Our first holiday collection scoop of the year, folks: GUERLAIN!

You had better sit down (or at least brace yourself) because this is going to rock your world.

Are you ready?

Do you want to guess what the above item is, or should we just tell you?

Here’s a hint: It looks like perfume, smells like perfume, but it’s totally not perfume.

This gorgeous atomizer is filled with FOREVER GOLD, a Sublime Radiant Powder for the Face & Body. Sprayed on like perfume, this new application technique creates a delicate veil of silky powder, giving skin a radiant glow with the subtle scent of violets.

Meteorites Gold Temptation Pearls: Pure Desire—six shades of gold and silver pearls to illuminate the complexion. Now the pearls are even smaller and also come in a rare and refined compact decorated with a white and gold rose on the lid. This means our Meteorites can stay with us at all times!

Ombre eclat duo & liner, limited edition: MIDNIGHT GOLD—two subtle glittering eyeshadows, one gold and one white to create a play of depth and light, with a coppery gold eye liner to enhance the eyes.

Golden Lash topcoat mascara is a limited edition gel applied over mascara to create a golden, pearly effect that’s essential for party nights.

KissKiss Precious Colors: Silky and Delicious—adorned in party attire, the limited edition KissKiss Precious Colors, Silky and Delicious comes in three new Lipstick colors bursting with gold pearls: Forever Pink (sparkling coral pink), Forever Rose (fresh gentle rose), Forever Beige (sophisticated beige).

Also, KissKiss Gloss is now available in Gold Princess (gold) to be worn alone or over lipstick.

We hate to rush through our favorite season of the year (autumn) but this Guerlain Holiday 2007 collection is making us long for the dreaded Old Man Winter just so we can spray ourself with Forever Gold. We’ll keep you posted on when this becomes available.

Last Friday we had the opportunity to spend a few hours at San Francisco Fashion Week hanging out backstage with key MAC artist, Louise, and her team of makeup artists. MAC was the official makeup sponsor of San Francisco Fashion Week.

We observed Louise and her team create looks for three runway shows: Dcepcion, Kirribilla and EVarize.

Dcepcion creators, identical twins Daniel and David Concepcion, pulled inspiration from early 90’s comic books along with details from the 30’s and 40’s for their slim, tailored silhouettes. The flattering street-wear collection called for neutral makeup that gently enhanced features while offering a little unexpectedness. Rich Ground Fluidline was used to create an untraditional cat-eye that was more stunning than one might expect. Blunt Powder Blush was used to highlight cheekbones and contour the inner corner of the eye and the striking look was finished off with Clear Lipglass. This was my favorite look of the evening.

Kirribilla’s Spring/Summer 2008 collection was inspired by old time Hawaii. Classic styling with a vintage aloha twist had this collection calling for a strong, sculpted brow with a bright, happy lip. Louise began this look with no foundation, just Select Moisturecover concealer expertly blended with a #225 brush. (Louise prefers Select Moisturecover for a satiny look as it’s soft and more forgiving—allowing the product to melt into the skin.) For the brows, a #266 brush was used to fill in brows with powder shadow to create a fuller, bold frame for the eyes. Finishing off this look is a mixture of So Chaud and Chatterbox Lipstick that blended to a bright pop of color reminiscent of tropical flowers.

Erica and Darryel Varize created their latest EVarize collection, Measu‘RED as a way to create awareness to the needs regarding the Global fight against HIV/AIDS. This very important collection demanded a super hot look and Louise did not disappoint. With Molten Sol Liquidlast Liner on the lids topped with Mirror-finished Topcoat from Pro Longwear Lustre Lipstick, these eyes could be seen sparkling all the way to Jackson, Mississippi. Golden Bronzing Powder on the cheeks and Bronze Shimmer Lipstick added more sexy glamour to this hotter than hot look.

For more Makeup Bag picks from Friday’s SFFW, visit our Flickr set here.

*Special thanks to Heather from MAC for the incredible opportunity to experience SFFW backstage.

Hi—it’s Bree!! I swear I didn’t forget about you.

I’ve been super busy these last few weeks trying to jam pack the last days of summer with every activity possible. I can’t believe school starts on Monday. Aaack!

I’ve been doing a lot of organizing in my bedroom to prepare for new school stuff (makeup, clothes, books, makeup, shoes, makeup, messenger bags… Oh, and makeup.) As I’ve been sifting through all my stuff, I’ve realized that I don’t like to throw out old makeup. Even eye shadows that are all cracked and crumbled to bits—the ones that I don’t even want to open because if I do, the shadow will fall all over, staining my carpet and giving my mother a heart attack. (Like that one time my younger sister spilled an entire bottle of MAC Subtle pigment on her bedroom floor. It wasn’t pretty.) (Especially because it was a limited edition color and is no longer available.)

Anyway—it’s fun to have every color eye shadow under the sun in my Makeup Bag, and you never know when banana yellow or neon pink will come in handy, but a girl has to draw the line somewhere. Even though my favorite lipgloss from 6th grade has a certain sentimental value, the fact that it was starting to turn a weird color made me re-think the whole I-can’t-part-with-my-makeup thing.

After consulting with my local beauty expert (aka: Mom), I found out that makeup doesn’t last forever. (Who knew?!) Time to clean out those makeup bags:

• Eye shadow: Lasts up to 3 years. Watch for discoloration and, if you live in humid climates, mold. Eewwwww.
• Eye Liner: Be sure to sharpen regularly. Can last up to three years. (Ha! My eyeliner lasts me, like, three weeks.)
• Mascara: Only keep up to 4 months. Be careful not to pump the wand into the tube. This pushes air in and dries the product out. Try swirling it instead.
• Lip gloss: 6-12 months. This can be iffy, especially if you have a 5 year old sister that likes to lick your lipgloss wand. (Don’t ask.)
• Liquid foundation: 12-18 months. Be sure to check regularly for weird smell. And if the product starts to separate in the jar, it’s done for sure.
• Powder foundation: 2 years. Yay!
• Lipstick: 2-3 years. Again, check regularly for weird smell and/or mold in humid climates.

Washing brushes and applicators regularly (at least once a week) will help keep bacteria away and help makeup last longer.

And don’t forget to recycle your old MAC containers. Bring 6 empty containers to your local MAC counter and get a free lipstick, lipglass or eyeshadow!

Have a great week

After the warm, golden tones of their Indian Summer collection, Laura Mercier is cooling off with Stormy.

The Eye Colour Quads in Blue Sky and Storm Cloud are wonderful shades of blue and gray in complementary palettes to create the season’s sultry, smoky eye with ease.

Also, there’s three new Kohl Eye Pencil shades in Black Gold, Black Navy, and Black Turquoise.

See the entire Laura Mercier Stormy Collection here.

*Thanks to reader Betsy for scooping us on this collection!