Holiday Gift Guide 2011: Best in Makeup and Nail Sets

For the budding artist or makeup junkie

Smashbox Click You’re It Holiday Palette ($56).  With 15 eyeshadows, 5 cream eye liners, a lid primer and how-to guides, this is the ultimate colour palette for the creative ones. See swatches on Makeup and Beauty Blog.  Available at Sephora stores and online.

For the natural beauty or mama-on-the-go

Laura Mercier The Book of Nudes ($60).  Laura makes some of the best eyeshadow palettes on the market; they are soft, luxurious and always well-coordinated. Available at Sephora stores and online.

For the life of the party

Lise Watier Soleil Festive Palette Eyeshadow Trio and Mascara * ($39) and Liquid Gold Eye and Cheek Illuminator * ($25).  Lise Watier eye palette — beautifully dressed in gold and black — is sure to be a hit!  The classic shades mixed with multi-dimensional glitter is perfect for all the parties she will be crashing this season. ;)  See swatches on Beauty Reflections.  Available at Shoppers Drug Mart, Lise Watier counters and online.

For the pickiest girl on your list

Laura Mercier Limited-Edition Mini Lip Glace Set (US$48). Even a lipstick kinda girl (me) will love this gift set.  This is for the girl who cannot just have one lip colour in her purse.  See swatches on Makeup and Beauty Blog.  Available at Laura Mercier counters and online.

P.S. Send you my address?

For the teen girl or the young-at-heart

Nails Inc The Glitterati ($30).  I love these chunky glitter polishes from new-to-North-America Nails Inc!  Watch your teen girl swoon over her manicure instead of complaining about how gross boys are. :)  See swatches on Oh, Dollymix.  Available at Sephora stores and online.

For anyone (Glitter Geek’s TOP PICK)

China Glaze Winter Ice Nail Polish Set ($30).  This one is a crowd-pleaser.  Wear the nail polishes alone or layered for a true disco ball effect.  My absolute favourite is Tinsel Town.  Make sure you buy this for your favourite beauty blogger, too. :P  See swatches on Vampy Varnish.  Available on NailPolishCanada.com and Trade Secrets.

What are your top picks this year for makeup and nails?

As always, Glitter Geek is a safe place to enable your fellow peers. :P Go ahead and comment then.

Disclosure: Products marked with * were provided by the manufacturer for editorial consideration only. For more information, see my Editorial and Advertising Policy.

Glitter Geek’s Top 10 Products of Summer 2010.

10. MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Invisible Cover Concealer #350.

When the weather is hot, my cream concealer just won’t do because of caking issues. Instead I have been using this great click pen liquid concealer by MAKE UP FOR EVER, and I really like this one. It takes care of dark circles without the need for setting powder. It dries completely without any stickiness, so it is excellent for minimal makeup summer days when I just don’t want to fuss with too many products.

9. Sonia Kashuk Blending Sponge.

Sonia Kashuk is my #1 reason why I am annoyed that Target is still not in Canada.  The Sonia Kashuk blending sponge is an essential tool in my makeup bag for perfecting the skin on my face and under eye area.  Used wet with my MAC Fix+ Rose, about 10 swipes of my tinted moisturizer or foundation all over my face and I’m done.  Flip it over to the pointed side and blend out under eye concealer in a jiff.  It is really that easy.

8. MAC Eyeshadow in Arena.

Many a summer day my eye makeup was very minimal.  Some days eyeliner was not even used.  When I felt like putting on a “me but better” face, 9 times out of 10 I wore MAC Arena.  This shade is so versatile on my skin tone (about NC35 – NC37) because I can use it as a light lid colour or as a highlight.  If I am really pressed for time, I just highlight my eyes’ inner corners and brow bone and I instantly look more awake. :)

7. MAC Lipstick in Viva Glam V.

Here I am again, telling the world about my undying love for MAC Viva Glam V lipstick.  Seriously, if I were to have a BFF in lipstick form, Viva Glam V would be it.  The shimmery mauve is oh so easy to wear, and the Lustre finish makes it more comfortable to wear than other MAC formulas.  Oh, and did you know proceeds from all Viva Glam products go towards MAC AIDS fund to support those living with HIV and AIDS?  Now I won’t feel so bad getting backups of this amazing lipstick.

6. Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free in Almond.

On days when I want to even out my skin tone more than usual, I reach for this instead of my usual foundation.  Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturizers are well-known in the beauty universe, and rightly so.  This one provides a heavier coverage than your regular tinted moisturizers, so it covers your minor imperfections while still letting your skin show through.  I find the oil free formula is great for oily skin like mine and it has never broken me out.  This was a great buy!

5. MAC Hipness Blush.

This has become my default blush. The almost-matte coral is incredibly flattering on any complexion. It’s not the most pigmented blush I have, but it can be built up to a super intense colour when layered.  The nice thing about Hipness is that it works with a warm look as well as cool colours.  So if someone were to ask me which one blush I would take with me on a deserted island — obviously this someone is not in their right mind! :P — I would definitely pick my Hipness blush.  Because we’re tight like that.

4. Dior Addict Shine Eau de Toilette.

This is the latest addition (I almost typed addiction, ha!) to my small perfume collection.  I like to switch to a lighter scent in the summer months and this is what I’ve been wearing this scent all summer long.  I’m not fluent in perfume-speak, but it smells like a fresh floral on me.  It starts off more citrusy, but as it wears through the day, it begins to smell like a fresh field of flowers.  It is always a nice surprise whenever I catch a whiff of this scent.  It is summer in a bottle. :)

3. Annabelle Zebra Bronzing Powder in Haute Gold.

What a great bronzer and a great price!  Everyone I know who has used this — fair and tan — shares my love for this bronzer.  Fact: I totally cracked up when some Glitter Geek readers were fooled into thinking I wasn’t wearing bronzer in my original review. ;)  I looked like I had naturally glowing skin like I’m not wearing any makeup. That is all.

2. Pure + simple All Natural SPF 30 for Oily/Impure Skin.

I don’t know why I haven’t yet posted a review on this, but it has seriously saved my face from those horrible itchy patches I got last summer.  It’s a physical sunscreen, which means that I look like a powder-face geisha after I put it on, but it works.  On most days I just wear my MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural (Medium Dark) over it and everything looks as it should.  Non-greasy and doesn’t smell revolting.  It can be found at Pure + simple spas in the Greater Toronto Area or online.

1. Cover FX ClearPrep FX Matte Foundation Primer and Anti-Acne Treatment Gel.

My favourite primer continues to save my face from turning into a greaseball every day I wear it.  It is pricy, but if you have oily skin and think there is nothing out there that’ll help you, you should really give this ClearPrep FX a try.  And normal to dry skinned beauties, be not afraid! I didn’t find ClearPrep FX to be drying, either.  I tell everyone about it, so tell your friends! :)

Now That I’ve Shared Mine, What Are Your Go-To Products This Summer?

Disclosure: The bronzer was sent to me for review, and I bought everything else. Wow, that’s a lot of new products! ;)

Now Lusting: So. Much. Pretty. Makeup!

Does anyone ever feel like going on a major makeup haul?  That happened to me today.  Around 3:00 pm at work, it hit me all of a sudden: I want to go makeup shopping.  If I don’t, I think I might explode.  So far, these are in my ohmygodIneeditnowgiveittomenaooo list.

Laura Mercier “African Violet” Eyeshadow

Source: StrawberryNET.com

Of course, the product photo doesn’t do it justice, but African Violet is the prettiest plum/greenish gold duochrome. It’s quite sparkly, but it’s a grown up kinda sparkle. Does that even make sense? I don’t know! But I want it!  Of course TNBTTGSY has the best swatch of it here, from last year’s Laura Mercier holiday palettes.

Chanel “Pink Teaser” Glossimer

Source: chanel.com

It’s Chanel. *sigh* I happen to own no Chanel, and I plan to change that with the Chanel Les Contrastes de Chanel Fall 2010 collection. Perhaps a Glossimer to start?  Swatch here.

Chanel “Enigma” Eyeshadow quad

Source: MakeupAndBeautyBlog.com (photo linked to Karen’s look)

And while I’m at it, I am also eyeing this eyeshadow quad from the same collection.  It costs a whopping US$56, which I’m sure converts to like $200 Canadian.  LOL. :D

Any Bad Makeup Cravings Lately?

Please tell me I’m not alone. :)  The Fall 2010 collections have been killing it for me lately.  They are all so gorgeous, making me want to rock a full on dark smoky eyes.  But of course, I can’t.  It’s still too hot to wear that much eye makeup! :P