Last Thursday I did something I don’t do very often. As a Duane Reade Blogger I’ve been sent on lots of missions to document and write about everything from Carmelo Anthony’s new sports drink, to Fashion Night Out, and mosty recently Blk. But this new one took me to unchartered territory: Makeovers. In honor of L’oreal’s collaboration with Project Runway, and the launch of the new Electric Fantasie collection, they teamed up with Duane Reade to highlight the new, featured makeup in stores. To accompany that was in-store makeovers by L’oreal makeup artists, free of charge and showcasing the new line of goodies, including a new foray into the fast-growing world of nail decals. Nail polish for the new generation.
When I arrived I had visions of makeup countesses past; testers and the overloads or the not enoughs. But I didn’t know I was about to travel down a new, better and perfectly made-up road.(pun intended.) So I made my way to the back and perused the collection, beginning my journey not only into makeovers, but apparently, into self reflection. In a collection loosely based off of fictional characters; a fairy tale recharged as they call it, I wandered in, and wondered about that age ol’ question; whoo are YOuu?
There are four women in the new L’oreal /Project Runway Collection. They are, The Artsy Muse, a palette that almost seems inspired by Georgia O’ Keefe, boasting blues, oranges, corals, and dark green contrasts. She’s the dreamer; the wanderer. On the flip side of that, you have the Seductive Temptress. She has a neutral base with tans, brown, and green color schemes. The nail polishes in the collection are a light green and light taupe, and the nail decals almost look camo in design. This is someone who wants to make a subtle, yet powerful statement; perhaps even lure you in with her prowess. Then there is The Wise Mystic, almost out of a gypsy scene with deep purples blues and greens making a strong statement. And lastly, the Enchanted Queen. In my opinion, this is the strongest palette of the collection; and with that, a strong personality is needed to illustrate it. A mixture of silvers, whites, khaki and dark brown, with brown lip gloss and dark blush. It also happens to boast my favorite of all the nail decals; an almost Alice in Wonderland theme. (But more on that later)…
After careful consideration of all the shades, nail strips, and what each seemingly represented in this real life fairy-tale, my answer was clear. I was an artsy muse. A dreamer; ready to be made up, but not to make a scene.
I promptly told Brandy, the L’oreal Makeup artist on hand that I had my made my decision (was I the only one taking this to a deeper level), and sat down as she became working away, like a painter at an easel.
We gabbed, and I, under her dutiful advisement and orders, stayed as still and calm as possible (after being reminded a few times), and what felt like only moments later, she declared she was finished. When I looked in the mirror, I could hardly believe what I saw.
Like a present being unfolded to a unsuspecting kid on Christmas morning, I raised the mirror and excitedly looked into it. My eyes were a Georgia O’ Keefe canvas. A mixture of coral, and orange that blended perfectly into each other with a touch of blue. Underneath, used as a liner, the dark green eye shadow brightened up my eyes, and almost made this New York City Jewish girl look exotic.
But as amazing as the eyes were, I was most excited about the lips. I am a lip gloss fiend. I can never have enough glosses, sheers and shimmers. And just as in fashion, layering is key, the same philosophy can be applied to makeup. Brandy first used the lipstick in the artsy muse collection, appropriately named The Muses Kiss, and then went over that with a golden gloss, The Muses shine. It made me look vibrant, fresh, and ready for a night on the town. Or in this case, dinner at Grey Dog Cafe with my girlfriend. (Hey, I’m in my 30’s, this muse can’t party on weeknights anymore!)
I purchased my favorites from the collection; the lipstick, gloss, eye-shadow palette, a highlighter, and of course, my favorite decals from the Enchanted Queen theme that I can’t wait to try. I don’t know that I’ll be able to replicate anything Brandy did with the same technique, finesse or detail, but unless I fall asleep for a hundred years, or get banished to a castle, I’ll have all the time in the world to try. After all, this is real life. We can leave the fantasy to L’oreal for the time being.
So which girl are you?? This is a special, limited edition so don’t wait too long to find out! which girl you are
The Artsy Muse…
The Wise Mystic
Seductive Temptress
The Enchanted Queen… off with her Head!
The Tool box
hard at work
Me and MY muse… Brandy.. And She is one hot makeup artist! Check out her website HERE
My goodies courtesy of Duane Reade- #DRLoreal
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