Liptini Anyone? Mix up a Lip Cocktail at Crave

Liptini Lip Liqueur Stain - get yours at CraveBeautyOnline.com

Liptini Cordials Shimmering Lip Stain - get yours at CraveBeautyOnline.com

Liptini Topper Lip Gloss - get glossy at CraveBeautyOnline.com

Humidity - My Nemesis

Humidity is a horrid little bastard who's only goal in life is to ruin my day by making my hair both limp and frizzy, neither being an attractive thing.  I search high and low to find ways to defeat him, I sometimes win in the Michigan summers, but always lose in the North Carolina summers. I think you can hear NC humidity snickering when I unpack my precious battle ready products.

Here I present to you the honorable weapons that help in this epic battle:  Biosilk Silk Therapy Serum. This helps a lot in the war on frizz, but can make limpness worse if you should err and apply to the roots of your hair. If you stick to below the roots it will help a lot keep hair frizz free. This stuff is available just about anywhere and lasts a long time as you use very little.

Basically any serum that coats the hair will help lock out humidity. Blow has a product called Weather Girl climate Serum which fly's out of our warehouse and over to the East & West coasts like little soldiers off to do battle. It too is a serum and used sparingly helps fight the good fight.

Blow Weather Girl is available at CraveBeautyOnline.com

The Living Proof Frizz line does not live up to it's high expectations for me, although I was practically drooling into my laptop when it was released. I though mankind had found the answer but it is not the answer for me (small sob).

We welcome any wisdom out there from out similarly challenged soul sisters.

Volume - The hunt for this elusive creature continues

Ah Volume, how I hunt for thee. No expense has been spared in the crusade for dependable, lasting volume but it remains tantalizing, and just out of reach. Below are some products I reach for every morning and the hunt continues... Stay tuned for new discoveries.

In the winners circle for hairspray are: Nick Chavez Amazon Hair Body Building Spray. This really does deserve an award for service to womankind, it never feels stiff or tacky and gives plenty of ooomph wherever it is sprayed. I rarely repeat products preferring to believe in the next best thing but this is an exception, I have left cans of the stuff in my wake. I get mine from Ulta or Follica.com.

A new discovery is Aveda Control Force Firm Hold Hairspray. This is fairly new but I like it, gives a stiffer feel to the hair than the above product but sometimes a girl needs that to make it through the day.  Available at Aveda salons nationwide.

Also winners in the hair spray award category is Ojon Volumizing Extra Hold Hiarspray, and our very own Blow Out Non-Stick Hairspray, a truly revolutionary formulation that we adore. Vogue seems to agree as they named it one of the 5 best hair-sprays evah. Not bad press for the great people at Blow, the New York Blow-Out Bar.

Blow Hair Care is available at CraveBeautyOnline.com

Blow also has a great Blow-Up Root-Lift Concentrate product that works well enough to deserve honorable mention.  People swear by the Blow Faux Dry dry shampoo powder too, this is a popular item on our website.

I like mousse styling products best, there are good ones in regular rotation in my bathroom from Frederick Fekkai and Nexus, a gel I really like is by Shu Uemura and is called Fiber Lift Protective Volumizer. It is a clear gel and I reach for this on days I have to achieve my best hair.  I found it at Follica.com.

GO forth and volumize people and please let us know what you find!

Where is that lipstick...

No I have not seen your lipstick! 

Why would you even ask me that?

I'm insulted!

Every time something goes missing around here,

everybody looks at me!

Cravette Beauty Report - Ongoing blatherings about all things beauty,\...

Welcome to The Cravette Report, read on for the latest hot craves at Crave Beauty Boutique and CraveBeautyOnline.com, and all the other stuff that makes it into my bathroom drawers!

I admit to being of somewhat advanced age, but am vain enough to cling to the belief that no-one notices (ha), and bloody well bloody-minded enough to firmly believe the next big thing in lip gloss will change my life for the better. For what it is worth these beauty tips have been gathered over a lifetime of excessive and relentless product use, and much discussion with like minded friends and customers.

Obviously we stock what we love for the most part, but this list also contains products that we do not stock. We would love you to visit us at CraveBeautyOnline.com as we are delighted to add move Cravettes to our customer list. We would be thrilled to see you, but if not we hope you enjoy our ditherings here and we would love to hear your comments!

Watch this space for additions to these tips, as always at Crave, we wish you glossy lips….

Peeling nails have tried to ruin my life; I can honestly say that Essie Sensitivity Base Coat has saved it! I have gone from 3 self-induced manicures a week to 1. I now remain chip free for the week, as my nails are smooth and healthy again.

Chipping Polish! If you find you have smooth nails but your nail polish still chips the day after you put it on, my tip would be to ditch the fast-drying top coats. Use a spray or a drop, such as Creative Nail Design Solar Spray (love!), or Essie Quick-e. This is a dirty little secret if you ask me, but these products dry just as fast or faster, and do not cause unnecessary chipping.

These essie products are available at CraveBeautyOnline.com

NEWSFLASH: My new favorite top coat was a bit of a surprise, it is by Sally Hansen, Hard as Nails -  Hard as Wraps. The stuff is really good, lasts a long time as a glossy non-chip top-coat. Me likey! Cheap and available at all drugstores.

Liquid Liner, I love the look of this – on others! I have seen people apply liquid liner perfectly, sans mirror! I was agog, this lady was an opera singer and used to getting glammed up stage side. But, sadly this is not a skill in my repertoire. I give full credit to Carmandie on What Not to Wear for this tip, it works for me. For more control in applying liquid liner, try applying with an old liner brush, preferably made of man made fibers, (see below). Just dip the brush in the liquid and press into your lash line. Voila! We suggest the Alison Raffaele Wet/Dry eyeliner brush - make sure to wipe clean so as to not ruin the brush.

This wondrous little brush also works well wet with powder eyeshadow. I have to wear somewhat subdued shadow colors during the day, but I do like to show my wild side with a hint of crazy color as a liner, my current favorite is for a vivid violet or turquoise green just to keep things interesting.

Takelon Brushes: Liquid or Cream makeup such as concealer or liquid foundation should only be applied using a brush with man made fibers. Liquids will ruin natural bristle brushes, plus man made fibers such as these are easier to clean and cruelty free. Try Alison Raffaele’s new line of Takelon fiber brushes, the concealer brush duo set is fantastic, as is the brand new foundation brush. The Kabuki brush is a bit of a splurge, but it is so soft, and works so well for application of mineral powder.

The Beautyblender, when I first saw this product I thought it was a big rip-off. After all why should a pink, egg shaped bit of foam cost over $20. Then I tried it and I’ll be darned if it is not a magic pink egg shaped bit of foam. It blends perfectly and effortlessly and is easy to clean with soap and water.

Beautyblender and the sponge / cleanser duo are available at CraveBeautyOnline.com

Revitalash, this is a dear to my heart product that I would grab on my way out the door if the house was burning. This is a liquid “cosmeceutical” that actually makes your lashes grow thicker and longer. Applied to the lash line once daily, it is easy to use and converted my stubby little lashes into something approaching a fringe. Horrendously expensive it is, but it works – for me anyway. I saw results in just over a week, 3 weeks is the average for results. My goal is to knock people over when I blink, I will let you know when that happens.

NEWSFLASH: Sadly this product is no longer the wonder it once was. Those meanies at Allergen have greedily pulled back the active ingredient in this product so they could sell their own product, available only by prescription and called Latisse. This works just as well as my old Revitalash, but I still have several tubes stashed in the basement, don't tell them please - I do not want Allergen police at my door.

The new Transparent Finish by Alison Raffaele has made a believer out of me. It is a wonder powder that sets any liquid makeup products. Use it to set concealer, foundation, cream eye-shadow, lipstick or even use it to powder your eyelashes before mascara, your eyelashes will appear thicker and longer.

I am also quite fond of Make Up For Ever (MUFE), rather an unfortunate acronym I think. Anyway, their High Definition Powder really is a wonder, I use it only when I know a photographic opportunity will occur and it has not let me down. I KNOW when I am wearing it in photo's and I feel smug.

Blinc Kiss Me products really should get an award for their innovative products. Talk about re-inventing the wheel! The Kiss Me Mascara is totally different from all others on the market; each lash is coated in a teeny tiny tube, not coated as in traditional mascara’s. These tubes slide right off into your hands with water and pressure. This is the only removal method that will work; Kiss Me Mascara is smudge proof, sob-fest proof, sleep proof, and fiber under the contact lens ouch proof. We must post a warning though, when these tubes do slide off they look suspiciously like your lashes, at this point there tends to be a bit of screaming and running to the mirror to ensure your lashes are still there.

Get Blink @ CraveBeautyOnline.com

For traditional mascara days, I wholeheartedly recommend Bloom Mascara, my hair stylist swears this is the best mascara she has ever used, and you know I want to keep her happy. I also like the Dior Show line, it seems to lengthen and plump to a satisfactory degree.

Skin Primers: Don't miss out on Alison Raffaele's complexion products. Newly designed and re-packaged, Alison is a makeup artists - makeup artist! Now included in the line are two skin primers, Age Response and Acne Response. They are silky and lush on the skin, makeup glides on for the flawless finish that is Alison's specialty. My best friend and I both use the age response primer, and as we are both primer fetish folks this is saying a lot. They work year round and work to make your skin better all day. I know the Smashbox primer is popular but it is just too slick for my skin, everything slides off onto my chest which defeats the purpose.

Added to her cult favorite True Concealer and Reality Base is a proprietary "Frutta di Vita" (Fruit of Life) anti-oxidant complex that makes it easy to do good for your skin while looking good doing it. We love these new products, they may not get a lot of attention, but they are the worker bees of makeup.

See the Alison Raffaele line at CraveBeautyOnline.com