Guest Blogger: Shine on, summer!

Please welcome my makeup guest blogger and real-life writing aficionada, Suzanne Cohen! She is mad over makeup, especially lipsticks and glosses. This season, she is sure to motivate you to try a new color, help you reminisce over long-lost favorites of the past and show you how to keep your current line-up in your makeup bag (long after it has left the shelf) with her trade secrets. If you like makeup, she's a good friend to have! :)

 

Hallelujah - it's lipgloss season.

Dear readers, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a young girl who fell smack dab in love with Maybelline Kissing Potion and (almost) never recovered. In liquid form with rollerball applicators, this gloss came in the most delicious flavors: cherry smash, juicy watermelon, bubble gum, orange squeeze and more.

To refresh your memory, here's a vintage ad featuring Kim Basinger:
 

I've been enamored with lip color since my first purchase of the now-discontinued Clinique Mauve Crystal, a slightly shimmery frosty clear color tinged with mauve. Half my junior high classmates begged their parents to let them buy it or asked for it as a gift. I felt like a princess when I swiveled the silver-ridged lipstick tube and applied my favorite color. I wore it for a couple years, before I graduated to pinks and purples and more grown-up colors. Recently, on a regular sweep through Sephora - nirvana for makeup addicts like myself - I felt a pang of regret for my adolescence when the sparkly mauve crystal was absent from the shelf.

Fast forward to my teenage through adult years, during which mascara, eye shadow, eyeliner and blush made their appearance. Still, lip products remain my favorite. With one swipe of a magic wand, lip color can change a mood, alter a color when layered, add glamour or innocence.

And now, for my favorite "adult" lipglosses and lip sheers. Drum roll, please...

Chanel Sensuelle Glossimer

a fantastic layer-over-lipstick color or perfect on its own

Chantecaille Heirloom Lip Chic

dreamy texture, non-stop shine

Delux Beauty Norris 

the perfect subtle color, also nice to layer over a lipstick such as Mac "O"

T. LeClerc Rose Paillettes 

 creamy texture, subtle sparkle and vanilla scent; looks better layered

Alas, Sensuelle and Norris are discontinued. But never fear, I have stalked the Web, not altogether in vain. Although dwindling, my supply remains intact.

My pet peeve is when my favorite colors, in any cosmetic product, are discontinued, usually without advance notice. What's a lass to do? To the rescue: Three Custom Color Specialists. They'll produce discontinued shades for lips, cheeks, eyes and face or help you create your own. You can search their archives for a no-longer-made shade (they'll even keep the replacement formula on file), send a dime-sized sample of your color for them to copy or create your own shade from scratch. I tried the service when I lived in NYC, where they're based. I was able to choose a scent for my lip color. The process was costly, and while the result came pretty close to my original beloved Delux Norris gloss, it was not an exact match. {Alternatively, you may wish to scour eBay, StrawberryNET or Good Deal Beauty.}

Color me beautiful

If your skin color darkens in the summer or you prefer a more natural lip look, you may wish to dab on a neutral color. As a fair-skinned, dark-haired girl, I look too washed out to venture into neutral territory. However, I can offer a few trusty recommendations if you gravitate toward these. Please keep in mind that your skin's undertone and lip pigmentation determine which nudes will work best for you. The colors look less intense on your lips than they do here. Some crowd favorites include:

MAC Twig

also called "your lips but better" color

Maybelline Color Sensational in Warm Me Up

Rimmel London's Nude Delight Moisture Renew Lipstick

works well on medium-toned skin

How do you feel when you find a new color? Does it break you out of your routine or the doldrums? We've love to hear what your favorite colors are!

Kiss kiss, darlings.

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Writer's Bio
I've rarely met a word I didn't like. A lifestyle and corporate writer who specializes in snappy copy and interviewing people, I'm passionate about writing, social media, health and wellness, tennis and exploring the world and our fair city. After a decade in the Big Apple, I'm excited to be back in Chicago. Please feel free to ping me!

Thank you, Katie, for indulging my need to share beauty secrets on your blog. I love to read your cooking, entertaining and travel tips!
 

A Signature Drink: Fresh Limeade

Katie's Memorial Day BBQ is NEVER complete without a signature drink. The first big hit was Blueberry Ginger Mojitos, thanks Tyler Florence. I drank a few too many of those and promptly fell asleep on my guests - enter in embarrassment on both counts. The signature drink tradition has stayed. My antics {thankfully} have matured.

Lately my taste buds have been veering toward the lime family. Slightly tart and so refreshing! Ironically, a decade ago, you could not have bribed me to eat key lime pie or anything tasting of lime for that matter. Dare I say that my taste buds have also matured? I suppose so because now I am all over this wonderful citrus fruit.

Fresh Limeade
Serves 8-12

Simple syrup
2 cups water
2 cups sugar

Drink
20 limes (yields 2 cups)
3/4 oz. pkg. mint
2-3 quarts of sparkling water (to taste)
simple syrup (from above)
4-5 lime rinds (optional for visual effect)
3-4 cups rum (optional and to taste; reduce sparkling water accordingly)

Notes: Play with the ratios of all the ingredients together because I've found making drinks is particular to taste. My advice is to always err on the lighter side of each ingredient because you can always add but can't take away! :)

Directions
Make simple syrup by boiling 2 cups of water. Then add 2 cups of sugar and lightly stir until sugar dissolves. Cool and set aside.


Roll 20 limes to release their juice and then cut them in half. Use a juicer to extract the juices. Add juice to a pitcher.



Tear mint into smaller pieces (this releases the flavor) and add to the pitcher. Finally add in simple syrup and sparkling water to taste.

Option 1: add rum to spike the drink but then reduce sparkling water (start with the 3 cups of rum and add the sparkling water to balance it out)

Option 2: add lime rinds to the pitcher to make it look more festive



Note: This recipe will fill the pitcher at the top of the post. At the point in which the picture was taken, my friends and I had already enjoyed half of the pitcher :)

Adapted from:
http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/view?recipeID=174
http://www.marthastewart.com/332254/limeade