Mary-Kate Olsen is just too gorgeous for words at yesterday’s New York City screening of her new film The Wackness.  (In it, she kisses Sir Ben Kingsley…you know, Gandhi?…who is like seven times her age.  Definitely earning that paycheck.)  The soft makeup–no crazy colors, simply natural peachy tones–lets her skin shine through and the strong well-groomed brows and charcoal liner accentuates her eyes fabulously.  As far as the studiously-messy updo?  A-mazing.

Photo from UsMagazine.com

When a beauty product becomes discontinued, panic ensues.  How will I live without that perfect, exact, nothing-else-in-this-world-even-comes-close shade of slightly pink, slightly coral, not-too-shimmery, not-too-matte lipgloss?!, you curse the gods.  We girls are damn crazy about our favorites, stubbornly clinging to crumbling compacts and nubby tubes and waxy pencils, angrily shaking off friends who try to press a newer, fancier, better version on us.  (Better?  Ha!  I’ll be the judge of that.)  Sure, there may be scores!, hundreds!, nay thousands! of allllmost identical eye shadows, nail polishes and lipsticks out there…but we likes what we likes, no?  Lucky Magazine’s Beauty Blog lists a few soon-to-be-discontinued gems, including Lancome Juicy Gelee Crystal Clear Lipgloss and Smashbox Smokebox Palette.  Get ‘em before they’re gone!

All of Cannes was aflutter last night when Michelle Williams made a surprise appearance on the red carpet to promote her new movie Synecdoche.  Michelle has always had a very unique look; either you think she’s gorgeous or you think she’s, well, not so hot.  The heavy black eyeliner on her lower rims here accentuates her interesting eyes, making her look both doll-like and also sort of sad (and that has nothing to do with her personal life, as the lower-liner literally drags her features down).  A bit of extra black on the outer part of her top lids and in her crease would look lovely next to the peach shadow and would also open up her eyes slightly.  The colors, as well as the perfect brows and glossy salmon lips, however, are magnifique.

Photo from Usmagazine.com

After mentioning my former roommate Adrienne’s love of red lipstick in this week’s post on Gwen Stefani, she emailed me the following tidbit:

“…I do use (MAC) Russian Red all the time, but my trusty favorite for major drama is still (MAC) Ruby Woo for the ultimate dry matte look.  It’s the only lipstick that really invokes 1940’s glam!” 

Perennially hot mama-to-be Gwen Stefani was literally around the corner from my house last night!  She and hubby Gavin Rossdale were eating at Marix, which is a yummy tex mex restaurant (and where I had my birthday last year, by the by.)  You know, call me a dork, but I will never become jaded by celebrity spottings/proximity; I can’t help but think it’s amazing when we cross paths or visit the same haunts.  Are they better or more important than you and me?  No, nein, non.  But are they prettier and more Ooh! to look at?  (Despite…or because of…the airbrushing and gym-ratting and plastic surgerizing and salon sleekifying…?)  Um, yeah. 

Gwen’s trademark cherry-red lips make me happy in a really primal beauty way.  How does she pull it off so well time and again?  (Gwen in red lipstick=amazing.  Jolie in red lipstick=clownish mess.  The only “real” girl I’ve ever met who can pull off red lipstick is my former roommate Adrienne.  Props, A.!)  The trick to wearing red is finding a shade that works with your coloring; Gwen has a very warm, yellowish look because of her Italian-heritage skintone and brown eyes, so she sticks with vivid, creamy blue-reds without pink/fuschia in them.  (My recommendation: MAC Cosmetics lipstick in Russian Red, which is rumored to be her favorite color and is pretty much universally acknowledged to be the best shade of red lipstick, even for those with pink/cool undertones.)

Side note: Whenever I see a pregnant celebrity with zero roots, I can’t help wondering what the deal is.  According to some health professionals, it’s safe to dye your hair after the first trimester; others say that because small amounts of dye are absorbed into your body, which can theoretically have an effect on the baby’s organ development, you should avoid dye in general and only highlight or frost if you must.  (Pregnancy or no, I’m kind of creeped out by the fact that the dye seeps into the bloodstream at all!)

Exciting news—I’ve finally had a chance to see an advanced copy of my Bare Minerals infomercial appearance, a half-hour segment completely devoted to the magic that is Bare Minerals foundation.  I pop up about twelve minutes in, yammering on about how obsessed I am…how crap my skin is otherwise…how it’s my number one beauty product ever, blah, blah, blah. The thing is, it’s 100% true—I wasn’t paid for my appearance in the infomercial, and agreed to it because I was thrilled to be invited to participate.  It’s damn near impossible to not become jaded by products; as a beauty writer, you test so many that they start to blend together.  So when you find something that really stands out, it’s a lightening bolt moment, and that Oh-My-God-You-Have-To-Try-This! love is what Bare Minerals (and all the Bare Escentuals products) inspires in me.

Why do I love it?  (Surely you’re sick of this by now!)  Here’s the five-second version: It’s weightless, it covers all my redness, pigmentation, zits and acne scars, and it doesn’t make me feel like I have paint on my skin.  Yeah, it has SPF, too, but even if it were SPF-free, I’d still want to make babies with it.

BTW, While most women who’ve tried agree wholeheartedly with Bare Minerals’ merits, occasionally I’ll get an email from somebody who questions my devotion.  (They’re all, “Jolie are you on crack?  I hate it–why are you so obsessed?”)  The most common complaints I’ve heard regarding Bare Minerals come from those with extremely dry skin, usually older women.  I always advise them to moisturize well before applying foundation, and also mention that the brush you use will determine the type of coverage you get.  (My favorite is the Handy Buki, which gives medium-to-full airbrush-worthy coverage.)  If you find that the foundation settles into pores, another complaint I’ve heard a few times, using a primer after moisturizing will help you look flawlessly smooth, dahlings.  The simple truth is that not all beauty products will work for all women; my favorite could be your least, or vice versa.  That being said, nearly every gal I’ve turned onto Bare Minerals has similarly fallen in love.  Hand over heart, Jolie pledges to (at least attempt to) always steer you right!  

I’m much more of a skincare person than a makeup person.  Yeah, I love mascara and foundation, but only because of the dramatic improvement they bring to my face, which otherwise is usually channeling a “Homeless Albino” vibe.  (Has a certain ring to it, no?  Homeless Albino cosmetics…coming soon!)  Considering I’m a beauty blogger, I should be much more obsessed with random bits of makeup for the hell of it…but this is rarely the case.  (Antiaging creams?  Let’s discuss until the cows come home.  But, honestly, part of me feels that if you’ve seen one lipgloss, you’ve seen ‘em all!)  For the past few months, however, I’ve been digging the whimsical colors, long-lasting power and vibrant shimmer of Bourjois Effet Duochrome Eyeliner.  It comes in six fantabulous shades (violet and sapphire, among others), and I particularly can’t get enough of the bright green Vert Dore, which has the slighest hint of yellowy sheen and actually makes my own green eyes pop, for once in their poor No-I-Am-Not-Brown! lives.  I carry it with me everywhere, and slick it on (more green!  More green!) at every opportunity.  It’s verging on a sickness…but the liner is oh-so-pretty that I just can’t get enough. 

There’s something seriously tragic about lip pencils.  With one swipe, a woman suddenly appears dated, harsh, old beyond her years.  A few iconic pencils here and there have managed to escape general beauty wrath (MAC Cosmetics lip pencil in Spice, Wet ‘n Wild #666), but in general…just, no.  So, of course, I’m squirming like a stuck pig admitting to you all that I am loving Bobbi Brown Lip Crayon limited-edition lip pencils.  Can I have a moment to redeem myself, please?  Okay…here we go.  First off, they’re not like regular lip pencils.  Oh, no!  They’re chubby!  And glide-y!  And creamy and smooth and all those wonderful adjectives that make me think of peanut butter, not makeup.  It’s like a lipstick, I swear!  Secondly, the four shades are perfection: Naked Pink, Nude Berry, Red Plum and Warm Rose.  How can you be tacky with gin-and-dubonnet-swilling names like that?  And finally, it’s (respectful pause, please) Bobbi Brown.  Queen of all that is tasteful and elegant and—most importantly—necessary in beauty.  Yes, I confess…I have fallen in love with a lip liner.  Gel tips are surely in my future.

Bobbi Brown Lip Crayon in Nude Berry

Okay, people, I’ve gone over this a few times, but judging from some of the comments (not to mention the messed up makeup bags of my own friends), there’s a lot of confusion over how to properly use Bare Minerals!  At some point in time, like seventy years ago (or, I don’t know, seven), I watched the video that comes with the introductory kit, but I can’t remember if it explains this most crucial step or not: when you’re opening the jar, don’t remove the tape inside.  Rather, peel it back the teeniest bit to allow visibility of just a few holes.  Tap the jar onto the inside of the lid, allowing a small amount of makeup to escape—much less than you think you’d need!—and then swirl your brush around inside the lid.  (Hence the whole “Swirl, Tap, Buff” thing, which you can see in action at the website.)  When you’re done, retape the opening, so it’s completely closed.  If you take the tape off or pull it back too much, then a mess is absolutely guaranteed; with the tape securely on, all will be well in Mineralmakeupland!

I just took a peek at Sephora’s website, and lo and behold, the home page is devoted entirely to mineral makeup!  As you probably know—mostly because I will not shut up about it—I’ve been using mineral foundation for years, and consider myself something of an expert on the matter.  Not all mineral foundations are created equal, however.  Recently, I’ve been working with two facial plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills (much more on this later!), and I’ve been tapped as their skincare expert to help create an in-office and online store.  If you’re getting your face hacked to bits (in the name of beauty, bien sur!), there are two fairly good assumptions one can make: 1) You’re at least a teeny bit vain; and 2) Your skin is going to need some post-procedural TLC.  The leap to mineral foundation is therefore a natural one, since the best versions not only cover skin better than traditional foundation, but are also weightless and won’t irritate all those nips and tucks.  When I found out we couldn’t carry Bare Minerals (unlike some other cult mineral makeups, doctors’ offices can’t carry the brand), I was gutted, to say the least.  So began a search for mineral foundation that we could feature…and which I could stand behind.  And…sigh…the search is still on.  Over the years, I’ve tried Jane Iredale, Glo Minerals, Colorescience, L’Oreal, Hourglass, and blah…blah…blah.  I don’t like any of them, for various combinations of the following reasons: the powders aren’t as finely milled; the coverage is inferior; the packaging looks like it was made from recycled diapers, etc.  I’m always amazed when women corner me and ask, with a slight edge to their voice, “But, have you tried (insert mineral makeup brand here that is not Bare Minerals)???  It’s so much better!”  Alas, my friends, I’ve tried them all…and the only one I can get on board with is Bare Minerals–people are obsessed with it because it works.  And a couple of months ago, when Bare Escentuals approached me to appear in one of their infomercials…I agreed to extoll its virtues for free.  Why?  Like I said: because I’m obsessed…and because it works.