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Prime Beauty has new digs and a new look! http://www.primebeautyblog.net/   Stay tuned for some awesome giveaways coming soon!!

Clarisonic I Heart You!

Ladies, previously I told you what a absolutely fantastic tool the Clarisonic skin brush was and how it can change your skin and your life for the better. Now there's another compelling reason to purchase one--the wonderful customer service! I bought myself a Clarisonic for my birthday in December of 2006; this December it quit working. I emailed customer service and they had a few suggestions, none of which helped. In the email, they provided my with a customer service number and I called it. The nice lady that answered my call explained that Clarisonic skin brushes usually last an average of two years and mine was three years old; HOWEVER she offered to replace mine! Maybe it was the desperation in my voice when I said I couldn't live without it another day or maybe Clarisonic just has excellent customer service, but whatever the reason a brand spankin' new Clairsonic and charger arrived a few days later along with a return label to ship my non functional one back. Viola! Done! I'm back in business and my skin and mood are much improved!! Now that's good customer service!!! Just sayin'.

Goodbye

To all my friends and followers--I'm so sorry to have been absent. I was planning on posting again after the holidays but my elderly mother was taken from us unexpectedly on New Year's Eve. She was a remarkable woman and  I am proud to be her daughter. I miss you Mama.

I will be back soon so please check back often.

Happy Holidays and Good Wishes for the New Year from Prime Beauty!

May the peace and joy of Christmas be with you today and throughout the New Year. I wish all women 40 and over the confidence to enjoy their age and the wisdom that age brings. Embrace and enjoy this time; the prime of your life. I will leave you with this quote which I think describes most women that have lived 4 decades or longer:

"The most beautiful stones

have been tossed by the wind

and washed by the waters

and polished to brilliance

by life’s strongest storms”

Happy Holidays from Prime Beauty!! I am taking some time off during the holidays but will return in the New Year with a brand new look and a week's worth of giveaways so stay tuned!!

Review: Rock & Republic Cosmetics

Hi Prime Beauties! I'm excited to bring you a review of Rock & Republic's cosmetic line. You know, the same Rock & Republic of jean and clothing fame. I have been curious about this line for quite some time but the prices prevented me from trying it. I realize this makes no sense whatsoever as I will voluntarily fork over $56 for a Chanel or Dior eye shadow palette--but those are known entities, know what I mean? Rock and Republic was untried and untested--a mystery, or to me at least. So, when my favorite online sample sale site, Hautelook offered R & R cosmetics at 50% off, I jumped! I mean you wouldn't expect any less of me would you? Originally launched in 2008, I've been seeing R&R show up on several discount sites so it makes me wonder if the brand is in trouble. I don't know but I'm going to take advantage of these sales!


I ordered Spank blush and Exile eye shadow on my blogger friend Karlasugar's recommendation. Rock & Republic's packaging is ultra luxe and the sizes are huge! The black and chrome compacts were enclosed in round cardboard packaging with a silver logo--very nice presentation. I feel a little like royalty using these compacts--the logo reminds me of the monogram of someone from a royal family--a mysterious Russian princess whose family was slaughtered in the revolution; Anastasia perhaps? Umm, except her initials weren't RR--maybe her REAL name was Ranastasia Romanov? Okay, whatever.

 

Enough chatter, on to the review! The Contrived Pressed Blushes come in matte and shimmer textures. Spank is a neutral matte true ballet slipper pink blush; it is highly pigmented and applies flawlessly. R&R blushes are $40 at regular price, but I got it for $20 on Hautelook. Even at regular price, you get twice the amount of product in a NARS blush for $25---at $20 it's a fantastic value and comparable to MAC prices. The texture of these blushes is excellent. Spank is a very wearable shade, a wonderful choice for an everyday blush. All of the Rock & Republic blushes are pigmented and most are bright--Spank is the softest of the line.

Saturate eye shadows are $28 at regular price, I picked up Exile, a lovely peachy, goldish bronze shimmer for $14 at Hautelook. Saturate eye shadows come in three textures; matte, satin and shimmer. The texture is medium-soft; soft but not so much that they crumble. This is good shimmer for us 'mature' women--not sparkly or glittery, but a slight shimmer and not to loud. There is a fairly large selection for a new line and there are several nice colors in the line-- I will definitely pick up more of these at the next sale.

Here is a swatch of Spank and Exile:

Originally I thought exile wasn't very unique but as you can see from my swatches, I really don't have anything like it. It looks like a combination of MAC Honeylust or Stila Oasis to me, what do you think?

 

Comparision swatches:

Left to right: Urban Decay Half Baked, R&R Exile, Smashbox 35 mm, Benefit Dandy Brandy, Cat Cosmetics Peace (very coppery). You can see too that Exile has less shine than the rest.

Packaging: ultra luxe and classy, but may be a bit too heavy for some--I'm a sucker for nice packaging

Value: buy from Hautelook, Gilt, Idelli or any of these sites for a great deal! Click here for an invite from Hautelook

Quality: excellent--just as good an any high end brand

Overview: excellent quality, beautiful packaging and great prices--give this brand a try!! I will definitely buy more blush & shadows and I want to try the lip gloss too!

Grade: A

The Rock & Republic cosmetic line includes; Contrived Pressed powder blush, Imitate Mousse blush, Saturate eye colour, Bound Gel eyeliners, Extremist mascara, Luxe Lip Gloss and makeup brushes. Available at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's and rockandrepublic.com BUT wait for the sample sales!!

MAC Lovely Love Lace Collection

“Every couturier has forever had a fascination with the mysterious and alluring qualities of lace. From Evita to marlene Dietrich to some of the best-dressed of our red-carpet modern stars, it’s a long love affair. This salon-intimate collection is all about a dramatic, intense, smoky eye, with shadows that flash frosty grey to deep blue. Kohl Power is brought back for a limited time in a favorite shades plus a new blackened marine blue.

And naturally, 44 Lash adds the depth and desire. Lips stay pleasingly pale and nail lacquer in Light Affair adds ahit of danger. If ever there was a moment to do away with the winter doldrums and add some instant intrigue, this is it.” –MAC Cosmetics

The collection has a release date of Dec. 26 and includes:

Lipstick ($14)
Pretty Please Pale – pearl pink
Intricate Frosted – cool taupe

Lipglass ($14.00)
Icescape Sheer – pale pink with pearl
Utterly Discrete Sheer – icy mauve

Eyeshadow ($14.50)
Pincurl – dusty white
Hypnotizing – frosty grey mauve
Love Lace – frosty grey-ish blue
Suave Intentions – frosty silver blue

Kohl Power Eye Liners ($14)
Sense of Style – deep dark blue
Raven – red with black pearl
Feline – black

Nail Lacquer ($12)
Light Affair – creamy taupe grey

Swatches at The Next Best Thing to Going Shopping Yourself.