By Terry Hyaluronic Sheer Rouge Lipstick

Wow! When By Terry sent this preview of their new Hyaluronic Sheer Rouge ($35) lipsticks, I drooled. I love By Terry, and the use of the word "sheer" sent me into "can't wait" mode. I had to wait no longer when I called the SPACE.NK manager at Bloomingdale's and found that the lipsticks had arrived. I drove over with the intention of purchasing three to try. I came home with five. Think I liked them?

There are ten shades available. From left to right in the photo above, they are #1 Nudissimo, #2 Mango Tango, #3 Baby Bloom, #4 Princess in Rose, and #5 Dragon Pink. I saw already in trouble. I loved all of these.

Then I started playing with the darker shades. From left to right in the photo above, they are #6 Party Girl, #7 Bang Bang, #8 Hot Spot, #9 Dare to Bare, and #10 Berry Boom. The love grew.

I ended up selecting #1 Nudissimo, #3 Baby Bloom, #5 Dragon Pink, #8 Hot Spot, and #9, Dare to Bare. I wanted a cross section of shades and intensities.

I had to take my swatch photos in freezing wind. I swatched rather messily, and ran outside without my coat to get photos. My photos of the tubes themselves were total failures because they rolled all over the place before I could snap. It was that bad outside. I am almost ashamed to show you the photo below. I had to give up on getting the tubes lined up evenly. They were moving!

The tubes are shown in numeric order. As listed above, they are, from left to right, #1 Nudissimo, #3 Baby Bloom, #5 Dragon Pink, #8 Hot Spot, and #9, Dare to Bare. My swatch photos, taken in full sun, are shown in the same order, top to bottom on my freezing arm.

Nudissimo is a beautiful light, warm pink. It's not really nude. Baby Bloom is a soft, cool pink. I think it's beautiful. Dragon Pink is a bright blue pink. It certainly makes my blue eyes pop. It's not a shade everyone can wear, but fortunately, there are 10 shades from which to choose - and you will want to choose.

Hot Spot, a coral shade, is a departure for me, but I wanted one of the peaches, and I loved it. My absolutely favorite among favorites is Dare to Bare. It's my typical love: brown rose. It's so flattering.

I would categorize By Terry's Hyaluronic Sheer Rouge Lipsticks as semi-sheer. They provide a lot more pigment than many lipsticks called "sheer." They are slightly shiny - enough to give them life, but not sparkling. They feel ultra-creamy on the lips, and the hydration and color last nicely. Thumbs up to By Terry!

I purchased mine at the SPACE.NK in Bloomingdale's at Tysons Corner Center. I see online that they are available at SPACE.NK, Barneys New York, and b~glowing.com. I know By Terry has a Web site too.

Photos at top courtesy of By Terry; other photos by Best Things in Beauty

Sunday This and That is All about Chanel

I knew Chanel was opening a new boutique at Saks Fifth Avenue in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and I saw it under construction. However, nothing prepared me for the experience of walking in Saturday to see it "live." Every other store in the area is going to have a very hard time competing with this Chanel exhibition. My photos are a bit dark. Only a professional photographer could have photographed this interior space to adequately represent its grandeur.

You can enter paradise from two doors, one close to the perfume center and one from the main aisle. No matter how you enter, you aren't going to believe the new, luxurious space. We think of Chanel as luxury makeup. Now it has a luxury home in the DC area.

Interested in color? Look no further than these bars, with nice stools you can use to sit and sample.

Drawn to skin care? The display will wow you.

I had gone to pick up Chanel's new Les Exclusifs de Chanel 1932 fragrance. Its inspiration lies in the first collection of fine Chanel jewelry that was presented in 1932.

The composition of the new 1932 fragrance is floral with a focus on jasmine. It opens with fresh citrus flavors that include aldehydes, bergamot, and neroli. The heart is a heady floral, composed of jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, lilac, and carnation. The base is sweet, woody, and resinous with notes of vetiver, orris, sandalwood, opoponax, incense, vanilla, coumarin, ambrette, musk, and iralia molecule that possesses the character of iris and violet (description from Fragrantica). I will write my impressions later.

The fragrance bar in the new boutique presents all of Chanel's fragrances at a specially designed station with each scent embodied in a ceramic tube. For all of you who have called Georgia, but never seen her, here she is arranging the tubes just so.

When you remove the ceramic tubes (blotters) from the bar, you smell the fragrance as it is designed to smell on the skin and after the top notes have departed. I think I smelled all of the blotters Saturday. I fell in love with a few Exclusifs I had never experienced, and I'm sure I'll be very tempted to buy them when Exclusifs guru Christian arrives this coming weekend for a special event. If you would like an appointment with him, just call Georgia, Loyd, or Maria at (240) 497-5363 or (240) 497-5301. He will be available Friday afternoon and Saturday.

I was absolutely blown away by my first visit to this Chanel palace. I doubt the special feeling will ever go away. This space is remarkable.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty, except Chanel brooch (source lost)

Tarte QVC Exclusive - Journey to Natural Beauty Six-Piece Collection for Spring 2013

I was the lucky recipient of a fabulous Tarte Journal to Naural Beauty Six-Piece Collection ($59.94) that will go on sale officially at QVC on Tuesday, February 5. Actually, I discovered that you can order it now. It's an amazing value, with $165 worth of products for roughly $60.I love it - everything about it except that the foundation is not my shade. See below because one of you lucky readers could win the medium shade.

You can start your journey to natural beauty with this collection of essentials infused with the best-kept secrets of the Amazon. This hand-selected set comes with a chic, travel-friendly bag, making it the perfect accessory to face any adventure. Actually, when I saw the bag, I though Missoni. It's much nicer than your average makeup bag because it's large - and the designer pattern is very cool.

What's in the collection? All the items are shown above and described below.

A new Brow Architect Shaper, Liner & Definer is a three-in-one brow perfector that shapes and defines the brows with ease. First, you use the concealer to hide strays and shape the brow with this underscoring concealer. Then fill in the brows where needed with the universal wedge-ended pencil. For the perfect finish, use the comb to make your brows stay the way you want them. There are three shade options: fair-light, medium-tan, and deep. This item retails for $25.

The new Lights, Camera, Flashes Statement Mascara is housed in a flashy gold case. This mascara will take your lashes to the extreme. It's clinically proven to increase lash volume by 725% for a black, intensified look. The mascara retails for $23.

I am totally smitten with the Airbrush Finish Bamboo Foundation Brush ($32). It does an amazing job of airbrushing your foundation - any foundation. I love the handle, but the real power is in the bristles.

The Amazonian Clay 12- hour Full Coverage Foundation ($38) will help you achieve better, longer, and truer wear thanks to Tarte's Skintuitive Amazonian Clay. With a weightless texture that is buildable and blendable, anyone can attain skin that looks healthy and natural. There are five shade options, from fair to deep. I am sure I'd be fair, but I was sent the medium shade. You can see a swatch photo below.

The blush and lipstick are covet-worthy. Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush ($26) imparts a natural-looking flush when you dust Tarte's award-winning Amazonian clay on the apples of your cheeks. This nutrient-rich and skin-nourishing blush restores the skin's harmony for a flawless finish that lasts all day. This new warm pink shade, Fearless, is stunning.

I took swatch photos in full sun. In the photo above, I applied Fearless heavily at the top of my arm with a sponge-tipped applicator and heavily below with a kabuki brush. The rose pink is a bit sparkly and very pretty.

The Amazonian Butter Lipstick ($24) will drench your lips in moisture. Infused with nutrient-rich cupuccu and murumuru butter, this cream lip color will soften your lips beautifully. The new shade in the collection is Plummy Rose.

I love it! It has sheer color and shine and offers my lips a moist, comfy feeling. It doesn't get better than that.

Here is a swatch photo of Plummy Rose with the medium foundation below. As you can see, medium is too dark for my skin tone, although it's not extremely dark.

I don't want this fabulous Amazonian Clay 12-hour Full Coverage Foundation to go waste. I haven't checked with Tarte to get permission; I didn't expect to find them over the weekend when I had this idea. I will check with them tomorrow. I wish to give away the foundation to someone who will give it a good home and good face. If you are interested in having it and think the shade will work for you, please send me an e-mail to bestthingsinbeautycontests@gmail.com. After a few days, I will use random.org to draw a winner and notify her. I will not be announcing the winner on the site. If Tarte is uncomfortable with my idea, I will amend this offer tomorrow.

As for the rest of the set, it's mine! I wouldn't even think of letting it go. It's love.

You can order your Journey to Natural Beauty Six-Piece Collection from QVC. You will see where you can select your skin tone, and QVC will send you the right shades. The blush and lipstick will be the same as you see above in all sets. Tune in to QVC on Tuesday, February 5, from midnight-1:00 am, 10:00-11:00 am, 3:00-4:00 pm, or 7:00-8:00 pm, all ET, to see the set featured.

Photo at top courtesy of QVC; other photos by Best Things in Beauty

Stila Positively Pink Set Giveaway Contest

I love my Stila makeup. When this Positively Pink Set ($18, $30 value) was made available, I purchased two. I was impressed that a portion of proceeds would be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Plus, I thought the warm, wearable pinks looked perfect. I was right. I'm loving mine. Now one of you will have a chance to love yours.

Have I ever told you that one of the biggest reasons I love Stila is Sarah Lucero? I met her in New York. She is Stila's Celebrity Makeup Artist - and one of the sweetest people in beauty you will ever meet. Sarah was working at a media party to freshen our makeup - and introduced anyone who had been hiding in a closet to Stila. Just a few minutes in Sarah's chair, and I looked fabulous. She made me feel like a pampered celebrity. You ought to follow her on Twitter. Her "handle" is @stilaPROartist. She is a sweetie. She posts cool photos too, such as this one.

Back to the makeup. The whimsical set features a multicolored, embossed pressed powder palette with the pink ribbons that are emblematic of breast cancer causes, plus a deluxe-sized glossy Lip Glaze coordinate beautifully.  Although I purchased them in the fall, they are absolutely perfect spring shades.

The set contains the Positively Pink Cheek Palette and a Lip Glaze in Splendor, the latter a limited-edition shade designed for the set. I have one set to give away.

How can you enter to win this giveaway contest (technically a sweepstakes)?  Just leave a comment on this feature (not in another BTiB post). After you comment here, feel free to send me an e-mail at bestthingsinbeautycontests@gmail.com (the contest address, not my "personal" e-mail) and identify your comment. You can never be too careful about sharing an e-mail address you care about on a blog, so feel free to follow this step (an alternative is to code your e-mail, e.g., myname at gmail dot com, in your comment). Please make sure I have your e-mail. If I can't notify you, you can't win - even if your number is drawn. I can't believe the number of winners I haven't been able to find in the past.

You can earn extra entries. Follow this blog (through an e-mail subscription, GFC, or though one of the many Google readers - see sidebar at right) to earn a second entry. If you are a follower, it would help me tally entries if you tell me in your comment how you follow. You don't have to follow to enter. I want everyone to have a chance, but I also want to reward my followers. I must be able to track this entry.

You can earn a third entry by tweeting this contest. You must include "@BTiBeauty" (without the quotes) and the contest title in your tweet. Remember, tweet the contest title - if you don't, that entry won't count. I will tweet the contest early this evening, and you can simply retweet it to earn that second entry - if that's easier.

Readers who are United States residents and also enter the Suave Beauty giveaway contest will receive a fourth entry.

The deadline for entries will be Saturday, February 9, 2013, at midnight. The next morning, I will use a random number generator (random.org) to select the winner. I will e-mail the winner on Sunday morning. The winner will have 48 hours to reply to my message and provide a shipping address. After 48 hours, the prize will be forfeited, and another winner will be selected. Make sure to check your e-mail - and look in your spam folder - when the contest ends.

This contest is open to anyone anywhere. Here are the terms. I will carefully pack and ship the prize (as I always do). I cannot insure the prize for overseas shipment - it's amazingly expensive to do so because of the way I have to send insured mail. If it's lost or stolen in transit, I may not be able to replace it with another prize just like it. I'll do my best on this end; let's see if your mail service does right by you on the other end if we have an overseas winner.

The winner must be able to provide me with a "mailable address," meaning the U.S. Post Office recognizes it or its street, province, and other "elements" the way the winner provides them. I've had some trouble with both U.S. and international addresses lately.

For all the legalese related to this contest, please see the Contests/Sweepstakes page at the top of the blog. Good luck!

P.S. There will be a flash sample giveaway this week. Stay in touch.

Photo courtesy of Sephora

Suave Skin Solutions Body Lotion Giveaway Contest

This is the time of the year - late winter - when my skin screams for help. My heels crack open, my hands are dry, my legs look like alligator skin. I am one dry mess. I'm always reaching for something to soothe my skin, and I suspect many of you are also drying out. That's why I was thrilled when Suave offered me the opportunity offer you a giveaway for Suave's newly formulated Skin Solutions Body Lotion and Skin Solutions Advanced Therapy.

The new and improved body lotions have a richer, thicker formula that lasts all day - or all night - to keep your skin hydrated. You could be red-carpet ready. During award season, the red carpet is a beauty battleground. Designer gowns, sky-high stilettos, and radiant skin are all essential to pulling together a winning look, but you don't have to be nominated to flaunt radiant skin. This year, rich skin care and style experiences are accessible to all women - thanks to Suave's Body Lotions. The brand is teaming up with celebrity fashion stylist and TV host George Kotsiopoulos to show women how easy it is to experience the richness of beautifully moisturized skin and great style, on the red carpet or off.

"As a celebrity stylist, I know that every detail, including having beautifully moisturized skin, is key to any look – and that celeb-worthy style doesn't have to be expensive," said Kotsiopoulos. "That's why I'm excited to team up with Suave. The Suave Skin Solutions Body Lotions collection includes new, richer formulas that make it easy to have beautifully moisturized skin all day long." Or all night long at the awards show.

Women everywhere can experience the richness with Suave Skin Solutions Body Lotions. The new silky-smooth formula glides on easily and absorbs quickly for skin that is soft, smoothed, and delightfully fragrant. Even the fragrance was improved to last longer, making you'll smell as good as you look and feel. Skin Solutions Body Lotions are dermatologist tested and provide silky 24-hour hydration. Key offerings in the Suave Skin Solutions line include Suave Skin Solutions Advanced Therapy Body Lotion, Suave Skin Solutions Smoothing Body Lotion with Cocoa Butter & Shea, and Suave Skin Solutions Soothing Body Lotion with Aloe.

"Suave believes that "rich" skin-care experiences should be accessible to all women, every day," said Alison Clark, Brand Building Director at Unilever. "As awards season kicks, off, we are thrilled to team up with George Kotsiopoulos to show women everywhere how to achieve the ultimate accessory for any style trend: beautiful, glowing skin."

Advanced Therapy Body Lotion is enhanced with essential vitamins and glycerin to heal and relieve severely dry skin. Despite its heavy-duty power, it absorbs quickly.

Skin Solutions Smoothing Body Lotion with Cocoa Butter & Shea is enriched with a mix of nutrients, which are known to enhance the moisture levels and texture of multiple layers of the skin.

Skin Solutions Smoothing Body Lotion with Aloe also has cucumber in the ingredients. It feels light on your skin, but instantly revives it with a look of freshness and a fresh scent. All three lotions will increase your skin's hydration levels by 100%. Plus, they are clinically proven to last 24 hours. Depending on the size you purchase, these wonderful body lotions range in retail price from about $3 to $5. They provide a nice return on a small investment.

We will have four winners of this contest! The grand prize winner will receive all three lotions shown above. Each of three more winners will receive one of these lotions. Pretty nice, huh?

How can you enter to win this giveaway contest (technically a sweepstakes)?  Just leave a comment on this feature (not in another BTiB post) explaining why you'd like to win. After you comment here, feel free to send me an e-mail at bestthingsinbeautycontests@gmail.com (the contest address, not my "personal" e-mail) and identify your comment. You can never be too careful about sharing an e-mail address you care about on a blog, so feel free to follow this step (an alternative is to code your e-mail, e.g., myname at gmail dot com, in your comment). Please make sure I have your e-mail. If I can't notify you, you can't win - even if your number is drawn. I can't believe the number of winners I haven't been able to find in the past.

You can earn extra entries. Follow this blog (through an e-mail subscription, GFC, or though one of the many Google readers - see sidebar at right) to earn a second entry. If you are a follower, it would help me tally entries if you tell me in your comment how you follow. You don't have to follow to enter. I want everyone to have a chance, but I also want to reward my followers. I must be able to track this entry.

You can earn a third entry by tweeting this contest. You must include "@BTiBeauty" (without the quotes) and Suave Skin Solutions in your tweet. I will tweet the contest this afternoon, and you can simply retweet it to earn that second entry - if that's easier.

Even though I can't count these, I'd love for you to "like" Suave's Facebook page. There is a sweepstakes there too - involving cash!

The deadline for entries will be Saturday, February 9, 2013, at midnight. The next morning, I will use a random number generator (random.org) to select the winners. I will e-mail each winner on Sunday morning. Each winner will have 48 hours to reply to my message and provide a shipping address. After 48 hours, the prize will be forfeited, and another winner will be selected. Make sure to check your e-mail - and look in your spam folder - when the contest ends.

This contest is open to residents of the United States. Here are the terms. Suave will ship the prizes. The winners must be able to provide me with a "mailable address," meaning the U.S. Post Office recognizes it as a good address.

For all the legalese related to this contest, please see the Contests/Sweepstakes page at the top of the blog. Good luck!

Photos courtesy of Suave

Giorgio Armani Beauty Blushing Fabric from the Spring 2013 Pop Collection

Giorgio Armani Beauty has introduced two new, limited-edition Blushing Fabric ($39) shades for Spring 2013 with the Pop Collection: High Density Orange, #8, and Fuchsia, #9. Either shade will create a pop of color that transforms into a soft flush when it makes contact with the skin.

Blushing Fabric is a micro-blend of water-soluble pigments that creates a luminous and luxurious fabric-like finish with incredible transparency. Inspired by Armani's finest couture fabrics - silks and chiffon - this sensuous "textiled" color wraps the skin in weightless perfection.

Blushing Fabric is like wearing a "colored layer of air" on your skin. Formulated with Armani's MicroFil 3D technology, it creates your "second-skin blush." The unique MicroFil 3D formulations in Armani makeup products are characterized by lightness and fluidity, facilitating seamless blending and layering to enhance the natural glow of the skin.

As you might expect, I selected #9, Fuchsia. High Density Orange is actually a pretty peach on my skin, but I'll get more wear out of #9.

You must try Blushing Fabric in order to understand how it will look on your face. Don't ever let the color on the tube dissuade you from trying these long-lasting blushes. It takes only the tiniest drop, about the size of the head of a pin (or less), to make you blush. You might think the 20 ml tube is "stingy," but when you see how little product is needed per application, you'll realize the tube will last for years.

I applied #9 exactly as I would wear it on my skin - by blending a tiny drop on my arm. I used my finger to apply and blend, but you could use Armani's Blender Brush or any cream blush brush. Or just stick with your fingers. Make sure that you use very little and blend quickly before it sets. You can always build the color, but it's hard to subtract it. It's a bit like a stain.

You can see why #9 was dubbed Fuchsia. It has a vibrant hue, even though it's perfectly wearable by us pale faces. I blended the swatch on my arm, although I left enough unblended product to produce decent swatch photos.

Pretty, isn't it? I'm not sure why Armani Beauty made the new shades limited editions. They fit in perfectly with and extend the range of the previously introduced shades.

I wish I could suggest you look at the shades at the Giorgio Armani Web site. They show them on the Pop Collection page, but when you get to the Blushing Fabric Page, #8 and #9 are not shown as available. I suspect that will be rectified soon. I purchased my #9 at Saks Fifth Avenue. I'm sure most Armani counters will have these new little darlings soon.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty

The Friday Forum - February 1

This was last week's snowfall. I awakened this morning to a dusting - as expected - and the snow stopped soon after it began. It only stuck to the grassy areas (and untreated roads). That's my kind of snow. It inconveniences no one. Now, as the sun has started to peek out, I am hoping that I'll be able to get photos of my new, fantastic By Terry lipsticks to show you.

This morning, I'm taking Charlie over to see his doctor. He had a GI bacterial infection about a month ago, and the antibiotics appeared to knock it out of him. Then it came back about a week ago. This time, the antibiotics are not working swiftly, and his appetite of "off." I hope there's nothing wrong with my boy, but I think he needs to see his doctor so that I can ask if there's anything else that might be ailing him. Right now, he's sitting in my lap - purring while he snuggles - as I write.

This has been a crazy news week, with Beyoncé singing the Star Spangled Banner a cappella to hush the never-ending speculation about her performance at the Inauguration (what a voice!) to the Super Bowl commercials and the ridiculous criticism of ads that will air. First it was the VW ad, which I found to be in good humor and almost a tribute to easy-going Jamaican manners; next it was a guy on a camel who couldn't get to the Coke bottle as quickly as others with faster modes of transportation; now it's a model kissing a nerd for Go Daddy (salacious, isn't it?). Have we become so politically correct that we can't take a joke?

On the beauty front, I have a lot to show you this weekend. I hope you'll stop back. I have the photos, so I'm not dependent on the weather - and it's a good thing. The seven-day forecast shows a four-day stretch of clouds, starting tomorrow.

Hooray for Europe! A ban forbidding the import and sale of animal-tested cosmetics and their ingredients in the European Union is expected to go into effect on March 11. The ban, which many beauty companies had expected to be delayed or scrapped, will demand that anyone who wishes to sell new cosmetics products and ingredients in the EU must not test them on animals anywhere in the world. The ruling affects all cosmetics products, including toiletries like toothpaste and soap, according to WWD. This is a historic event - one I hope to live to see in the United States.

It's time for the Friday Forum. I love this part of our week. What new products did you discover this week? Did you find any deals you couldn't resist? Are you using a fabulous product and want to sing its praises? Did you find a beauty product disappointing? Do you have a question others might be able to answer? Want to talk about skin care? What's new in your life? Just use the comments. Don't be shy. Just make sure to ask any question you might have over the weekend. By early the next week, most (not all) readers will have moved on.

Don't forget to enter this week's giveaway contest. The NARS Andy Warhol Walk on the Wild Side set is pretty cool. The deadline for entries is tomorrow, Saturday, February 2, at midnight. I'll be posting a new, hosted contest tomorrow morning. So make sure to check it out - and enter.

Photo at top by Best Things in Beauty; cats courtesy of thestandingroom.com