Valentine’s Day is coming up, and it’s the time of the year when you need your pucker to be at its luscious best. This is where Fresh Sugar lip treatments come in – they’ll give your lips some tender loving care so you’re prepared to give some TLC yourself! The latest sugary concoction that the Fresh sweetshop cooked up – Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Advanced Therapy – is actually serious about this. Designed to be intense therapy for your kissers, it comes packed with ingredients to bring your lips’ oomph factor up a few notches and give them the care they need.

This balm has sea fennel to smoothen out your lips; a combination of cupuaçu butter, plum seed oil, and passion flower seed oil to hydrate, repair, restore; orange extract filled with antioxidants to protect; and Hyaluronic Filling Spheres to plump up your lips. Fresh recommends using it before bedtime, or as an age-delay base throughout the day. Say hello to sexy lips! You’ll be ready for Love’s Day in no time.

[From Fresh]

The first month of the new year is drawing to a close – how are doing with your resolutions? It’s the best time to change old habits and start better ones, since you’re open to change at the start of the year, and you have 12 months to make good on them. Why not start with the little things, like shampoo? Lush Rehab is a vegan shampoo filled with organic goodness. We got a sample to try, and we found that if your hair needs some rehabilitation, stat, using it will make for a good new habit. Read on for our review.

Lush Rehab is one of Lush’s most popular products, and with good reason. It’s a clear, yellow liquid that comes inside Filled with natural ingredients, it’s designed for hair that is suffering from abuse, whether it’s from styling, or long days in the sun. Olive and jojoba oil are in it to strengthen hair and give it flexibility, while almond oil is in it to help soften hair follicles. It also has enzymic papaya to help clean hair and keep away grease, as well as kiwi juice, which is also full of active enzymes that help break down dirt easily.

Rehab had us after getting one whiff of it. It’s got a mild, fruity, somewhat citrusy scent that’s really energizing in the morning. We found it to have a really mild formula too – it lathered up easily, and rinsed off with no problem.

This shampoo is just great. Hair was soft and very easy to work with after it had a dose of Rehab. Strands were shiny and clean, and even frizz was kept at bay. The bottle says “Shake me, then use me”, and trust us, you’ll be shaking and using this shampoo for a long time. It could be the hair intervention you didn’t know you needed.

Not everything shiny is fun. When your face gets oily or sweaty and your skin starts glistening, it’s not your time to shine. It’s actually time to whip out your anti-shine arsenal before your face ends up looking like the back of a spoon. There is oil control film, sure, as well as face powder, but if you’re serious about keeping the shine away, it’s best to go with foundation that does exactly that. Take NYX’s Stay Matte But Not Flat Powder Foundation, which was made to combat shine. NYX sent us samples to try, so read on to see how they fared in our tests.

The Stay Matte But Not Flat Powder Foundation comes in NYX’s usual black and white plastic packaging. The compact is a little wide, but it’s got a mirror and a hidden compartment in the bottom for the sponge. The powder inside is packed in pretty well, and it’s not prone to loosening up when you’re swiping it with the sponge.

The formula is typical of NYX – it is mineral-enriched, talc-free, and oil-free. On top of that, Stay Matte But Not Flat is also water and sweat resistant, because it is made to keep shine away. It applied easily and felt very silky on skin. However, we found that it worked better on oily and combination skin. It didn’t blend as easily and appeared a tad too obvious on dry skin.

The samples we got were Creamy Natural, which is a light milky shade, and Nude, which is a neutral color. Both glided on effortlessly and looked matte almost instantly. It kept shine away for hours, and even sweat couldn’t stop it from staying matte. It’s also from NYX’s HD Studio Photogenic line, which gives skin this subtle glow and makes it appear really smooth. It looked terrific on and off camera.

Nude

Creamy Natural

Our only gripe about Stay Matte But Not Flat is that it’s quite sheer. It gives fuller coverage when it’s wet or when it’s applied on top of liquid foundation. The matte effect is seriously effective and it stays on for a long time though, so doing extra swipes is worth it. NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat Powder Foundation is available in 15 shades, and retails for $9.50.

Stacy Kiebler was positively beaming at the 2012 Golden Globes. She arrived on the arms of her beau, George Clooney, looking very pretty in bright, effortless makeup that complemented her red Valentino dress. NYX and KeSARI makeup artist Marina Gravani shared with us her secrets on Stacy’s look.

Beauty Ingredients

KeSARI Pore Minimizing Indian Clay Masque
KeSARI Dark Circle Brightening Cream
NYX Cosmetics HD Studio Photogenic Primer
NYX Cosmetics HD Studio Photogenic Foundation in Sand Beige
NYX Cosmetics Stay Matte But Not Flat Powder Foundation in Soft Beige
NYX Cosmetics Highlight & Contour Powder
NYX Cosmetics Powder Blush in Dusty Rose
NYX Cosmetics’ HD Studio Photogenic Concealer Wand in Beige
NYX Cosmetics Collection Noir Liquid Black Liner
NYX Cosmetics Liquid Black Liner
NYX Cosmetics Powder Brown Liner
NYX Cosmetics Butt “Naked” Eyes Palette
NYX Cosmetics Le Chick Flick waterproof mascara from the Boudoir Mascara Collection
NYX Cosmetics Xtreme Lip Cream in Natural

The Recipe

For the face, Marina prepped Stacy’s skin the night before the Golden Globes with KeSARI Pore Minimizing Indian Clay Masque. On the day of the show, she put KeSARI Dark Circle Brightening Cream on Stacy’s undereye area before putting on makeup to reduce puffiness and give her face a subtle flow. Then she used NYX HD Studio Photogenic Primer and HD Studio Photogenic Foundation in Sand Beige to create a makeup base. She then applied NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat Matte Foundation for a non-shiny finish. NYX Highlight & Contour Powder was used to define the cheekbones, and NYX Powder Blush in Dusty Rose was brushed over the apples of Stacy’s cheeks.

For the eyes, Marina used NYX HD Studio Photogenic Concealer Wand in Beige to Stacy’s under eye area to even out the skin tone. Then she dotted NYX Collection Noir Liquid Black Liner on the top lid to make Stacy’s lashes look thicker, and then she did a thin line using NYX Liquid Black Liner mixed with NYX Powder Brown Liner on the lower lash line. Next, Marina used the shimmery light beige eye shadow from the NYX Butt Naked Eyes Palette on the lids, and the brown eye shadow from the same palette on the crease. She topped it all off with three coats of NYX Le Chick Flick Waterproof Mascara.

For the lips, Marina kept Stacy’s look really simple with a neutral lip liner and NYX Xtreme Lip Cream in Natural.

[Photos credit: Getty Images courtesy of NYX and KeSARI]

Kate Beckinsale and Shailene Woodley both had neutral nails the 2012 Golden Globe Awards. They were two of the many ladies who wore pale gowns, and they both decided on neutral-colored nail polish from Essie to serve as accents for their delicate dresses. Essie gave us the lowdown on the shades these fabulous actresses wore.

Kate Beckinsale was in a cream-colored Roberto Cavalli gown with lots of Lorraine Schwartz jewelry. She wore a mix of Essie’s neutral-colored Lady Like and Au Natural that gave her nails such a clean look against her fantastic dress.

Shailene Woodley had on a silver Marchesa dress. It was a classic gown that she made a little more interesting with Essie’s earthy Very Structure lacquer. It’s a burnt orange shade that added color to her shimmery outfit.

These ladies could have opted for glittery shades for the glittery event, but they chose to keep it all simple instead. They winded up looking amazing anyway.

[Photo credit: Getty Images and Essie]

The new year is just around the corner, and it’s going to be an orange one. The Pantone Color Institute has deemed Tangerine Tango to be the top color for 2012. The red-orange hue is bright, happy, and oh so energetic. If you’re feeling the orange goodness already, have a peek at these orange beauty things from Lush.

Karma soap is pure orange inside and out, with its punchy orange hue, and blend of spicy orange, lemongrass, pine, and patchouli essential oils. The fragrance should help get your mood up so you can face the new year with good energy. Karma perfume is also filled with tangerine goodness. Its orange color is just as bright as its scent, which is a mix of patchouli, orange oil, lemongrass, and elemi. It’s designed to give you a sense of well-being, and give you a feeling of euphoria too. Orange has always been a happy color. That’s good karma for you.

Everything is shiny, shimmery, and splendid this time of the year. It’s the season for sparkle, as evidenced by the gift wrappers and twinkling street lights, as well as the glittery fashion and gleaming tree ornaments. With the world in full-on sparkle mode, your beauty stash should be just as festive also. We’ve put together a list of the most dazzling beauty products of the season. Read on.

Benefit Ticket to Glossytown Lip Shine Set – This limited edition box comes with six plush mini lip glosses in fun, girly shades – gilded berry, goldspun twist, juicy coral, bubblegum pink, diamond rose, clear fuchsia. ($24)

Bobbi Brown Party Shimmer Brick – Nothing says party like cocktails, and this compact got the idea down pat. It comes with silver and gold highlighter powder that’s embossed with a shaker and a martini glass. Fun! ($40)

Deborah Lippmann Shake Your Groove Thing Nail Polish – Take a wild ride back to Studio 54 with this blinged-out, flickering gold glitter polish. It’s a party on your fingertips – disco fever style. ($18)

Essie Luxeffects Glitter Top Coat in A Cut Above from Ulta – Essie usually rolls out pastels, but for this season, the nail lacquer company went crazy for glitter. This shade is total glamour. It’s a dazzling pink diamond glimmer that simply stands out. ($8)

Hello Kitty Intense Perfume Bling Roller Girl from Sephora – Deck out your dresser with some holiday cheer with this fabulous, shiny, little rollerball tube featuring the iconic Hello Kitty. Its enthralling vanilla-laced floral scent will be perfect for your romantic holiday escapades. ($22)

Lush Celebrate Lip Tint – Pink champagne is pretty much standard at every celebratory event, which is why Lush captured the essence of the golden bubbly and made it into a festive lip tint. This goes on a sheer pastel pink with lots of golden shimmer, and has almond oil to soften and moisturize your pucker. It’s naturally flavored with cognac, lemon, grapefruit oils, and icing sugar to make it taste like champagne as well! ($8.95)

MAC Glitter and Ice Mineralize Eye Shadow in Winterized – Make like a mysterious ice queen with this frosty eyeshadow from MAC’s Glitter and Ice Collection. Turn up the drama with this purple, silver, indigo, and pink mélange shade – good for the times when you’re playing hard-to-get. ($21)

Sephora Collection Nano Eyeliner Set – This comprehensive set of eyeliner pencils is simply brilliant. The package comes with eight shades that will match all your holiday outfits. Colors range from cobalt blue, rich brown, deep violet, and jade green to gunmetal silver, luxe gold, black with silver glitter, and classic silver. They’re highly pigmented and oh so bright. They will bring all the boys to your yard alright. ($20)

Guerlain Meteorites Perles de Nuit – Everything is illuminated with this holiday edition of Guerlain’s very popular Meteorites. The beautiful teal tin is filled with iridescent gold, pink, white, orange, and silver pearls that will help correct and smoothen our your skin while giving it a sparkly, holiday glow. ($56)

[From Benefit, Bobbi Brown, Deborah Lippmann, Ulta, Sephora, Lush, MAC, Guerlain]

All the excitement this season can have you craving for some lip action. Lush’s new Chilli Tingle Lip Tint and its fun and flirty qualities should be able to help you with that. Read on for our review.

Like the Lush It Started With A Kiss Lip Tint that we tested before, the Lush Chilli Tingle Lip Tint comes in a handy little tin. You open it up, swipe on a bit of it with your finger or a lip brush, and you’re good to go. It gives your lips a sheer, natural-looking coat of color and moisturizes your pucker as well.

Chilli Tingle is an orange-red shade that brings fiery, red hot chilli peppers to mind instantly. The color’s strong, but goes on translucent, so you get a nice, juicy sheen on your lips. It can look uneven on your lips though – it works best when lips are freshly scrubbed down and smooth.

Like everything Lush, it’s made from organic and safe synthetic products. It takes its bright color from annatto seeds – also known as the lipstick tree. It’s got organic jojoba oil and Fair Trade cocoa butter to moisturize your lips and make them soft and look totally kissable. It also primes your lips for a hot and heavy time with its Mexican spicy organic ground chilli and an aromatic herb called yerba santa to plump up your lips and make them tingle. Icing sugar rounded out the main ingredient list and added some sweetness to all the spice.

This lip tint felt light, and it applied easily. The promised tingle was there – a little faint, but so fun on the lips. It smelled wonderful, and it was so yummy – very like those gourmet chocolates with chilli pepper in them. You’ll definitely want to kiss someone when you have this on, and that someone’s sure to enjoy it too! Whether you’ll be puckering up under the mistletoe, amidst fireworks, or behind closed doors this season, Lush Chilli Lip Tingle will definitely make your lips make-out session-worthy.

When the winter blues set in, you’ll need anything that brings a bit of sunshine to your day. This Mark Body Luxe Lemon Sugar Set can give you the dose of bright, cheery, lemony goodness that you need to banish the season’s dreariness. It smells of sparkling citrus and sugar, with sharp zings of lemon zest, jasmine petals, and sugar crystals. The set includes the Three’s a Charm 3-in-1 Lemon Sugar Cleanser to wake you up in the shower on bleary mornings, the Whipped Up Lemon Sugar Body Butter so you can keep your skin supple despite the cold weather, and the Get Misty Lemon Sugar Hydrating Body Mist that will keep you smelling like spring throughout the winter. All of it comes in a chic, metallic purple bag too, which makes it a great stocking stuffer for your friends – and for you as well. It’s $28 over at Mark.

[From Mark]

The OPI Texas Collection was one of the nail polish lines that made an impression on nail enthusiasts this year. Today we dipped into our archives to bring out and have a closer look at four of the lacquers from the collection. OPI sent us Don’t Mess With OPI, San Tan-tonio, Suzi Loves Cowboys, and Y’All Come Back Ya Hear, so read on and see what we thought of them.

Don’t Mess With OPI was a true green. It had this rather sandy look about it that brought to mind cactus and other desert trees. The formula went on smooth, and we had no problems with it.

San Tan-tonio on the other hand, was a challenge to apply. It was streaky, got a ton of bubbles, and felt heavy on the brush too. We might have gotten a bad bottle, but it was a shame that it was so challenging because this shade is wonderful. It was a laidback, light brown. This nude lacquer looked very put-together – which was enough for us to ignore the finicky formula.

Suzi Loves Cowboys was a dark brown, almost black color. In regular light, it’s pretty black in appearance, but with flash, it looks like you dipped your fingers into very rich, dark chocolate. It was a no nonsense brown, and it looked like the kind that hardcore – but chic – cowgirls would go for. It was extremely glossy, and it only required two coats to make it opaque.

Y’All Come Back Ya Hear was our favorite of the four. It was a brilliant orange – bright, but not neon. It had OPI’s lovely sorbet effect (read: jelly) and the formula went on in smooth layers. It was a cinch to apply and appeared kissed by sunshine.

The Texas Collection took us on a wild ride to Texas. It’s one unique collection with a different take on tried and true colors.