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. 

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.

MAC makeup, in general, isn’t known for its subtlety.  You want nude…quietly chic…effortly tasteful?  Go Bobbi Brown.  Raucous color, wild shine, anything-goes fun?  It’s all MAC, baby!  A collection with fashion house Heatherette (they of the glitter and sequins and hot pink everything) was inevitable; I went to the launch party at the MAC store on Robertson Boulevard Thursday night, where I interviewed designers Traver Rains and Richie Rich–before they attacked me with a makeup brush and plied me with cocktails!

 Jolie: How do you sum up the line?    

Richie:  It’s paint-by-numbers–    

Travers: But you don’t have to stay within the lines!   

Richie:  We were going for a Kabuki-feel.  We think Halloween is the best holiday, and we wanted to capture that, like a drag-queen stumbling home at 4am.    

Travers: It’s fun and bright, but nothing that makes you look like a clown!   

Jolie: Which products are your favorites?   

Richie: I love Phone Me Text Me.  It’s a double-ended eyeliner (in Charcoal Gray and Metallic Silver), that’s both creamy and hard.   

Travers: Alpha Girl! (This is a coral-colored blush that Richie proceeds to spread all over my face–very brightening and flattering!)   

Jolie: Before you get stolen away (at this point, a woman in a Heatherette creation starts hanging on Travers), tell me quickly, who’s your style insipration?   

Richie: Madonna, circa 1987–love that! 

And then we snapped a quick picture (for a photographer, not for my personal collection alas!) and I was whisked away, a fruity martini presented to me.   Apparently Kim Kardashian and other Q-list celebrities (including The Blogger Who Shall Not Be Named) showed up later, but I was quickly off.  

My personal favorite products: The Eyeshadow Trios (Trio 1 is peach, turquoise and army green; Trio 2 is light pink, hot pink and dusky violet); Beauty Powder in Alpha Girl; And $$$$$ Yes nail polish in attention-grabbing silver (a shade that will soon be everywhere!)

Trio 1 

True Beauty Comes From Within…Unless You Apply It With a Brush

Monday, July 25th, 2005

One of the oddest things about working in beauty is that many editors don’t wear makeup. I’ve commented on this before, yet the answer to this mystery remains elusive. Fashion editors wear clothes, do they not? Chefs eat. I can only assume that music writers do actually listen to music. And yet, beauty editors soldier on, eyeshadow and foundation-free. If pressed, some makeup-phobes will admit to slapping on a coat of mascara in the morning, and maybe a tiny bit of colorless lipgloss. But blush? Eyeliner? Powder? No, no, no!What do they have that I do not? Flawless, even-toned, creamy-yet-naturally-golden skin? Probably. Perfectly rosy lips and cheeks? Perhaps. Eyes blessed with enough natural shadow and definition that skipping the liner doesn’t result in a look best described as “hospital refugee”? Most definitely. And yet, I still don’t really get it. Why strive for just okay, when with a little creative shadowing and NARS Orgasm you can become fabulous? I love my morning mirror time; it’s when I get to decide how I’ll present myself to the world that day. (Glam? Punk? Schoolgirl? I usually just pick “Well-Rested”, but at least makeup gives me the option to be glam, or punk, or schoolgirl.) It’s like art, minus the pretention!I’m no Tammy-Faye, but I do like making the most of what I have. And anything that helps conceal my albino eyelashes and rudolph nose is alright with me.