Friday Fabulousness: Beauty Recap

Happiest Friday, dear readers! Apologies for posting at such a sporadic pace, I aim to catch up as quickly as possible. With that, I want to tell you all about the glamfest known as Bright Now: Nordstrom's 2011 Spring Beauty Trend Event. I couldn't think of a single cosmetic or skin care line that didn't make an appearance be it MAC, Philosophy, Bobbi Brown, etc. Also? Did you know that Armani has a beauty line? Their runway presenter looked so flawless, I couldn't help but admire!

Overall, the event was everything I expected: femme filled chaos and a generous mix of gorgeous women from all walks of life. I was so glad to attend with some of my most favorite women (Tammy, Virginia and Gen)! Denver based beauty insiders and enthusiasts flock to this event every year to gush over new trends, meet regional Make Up Artists, try updated techniques and to learn about the latest science and technology breakthroughs in skin care and anti aging. Want to get involved? Check the Nordstrom event page for the store nearest you.

As a freelance Make Up Artist, here are my top beauty picks. Please note that I do not sell cosmetics, nor do I work for or receive compensation from any of these companies. What are your beauty faves? Post a comment if you'd like to share!

1. Osmotics - I love everything that is produced by this Denver based cosmeceutical (cosmetic + pharmaceutical), and not just because it was founded by a genius female, Francine Porter. 

I struggle with finding the right products to keep my eyes fresh looking and I swear by Eye Surgery and Blue Copper 5. These are regular use treatments versus occasional use products. New to me this year is ARAD - Anti-Radical Age Defense Barrier which is already making a difference in improving my dry skin from brutal winter weather.

Francine is the Founder and CEO of Osmotics and has a blog that you can check out here.

2. Dior - I heart their Universal Brow Pencil which works on every single haircolor and am very excited that such a product exists. I had the chance to spend a lot of time with Kelly, one of Dior's fantastic regional MUAs and got the cadillac tour of  their entire line. I was very skeptical of Airflash - a spray foundation, but noticed that at the end of the day I still looked great. Also, did you know you can swim in it??? Kelly used a pink and gray 5 color palette on me and it had beautifully soft, finely milled pillowey shadows, but the entire palette had a shimmer finish where I would have liked to have seen a combination of other types of finishes.

3. Laura Mercier -Laura Mercier has a sweet little arsenal of beauty tricks to look great without being obvious. One of my absolute faves is the tightline cake eyeliner. A trio paletted was presented exclusively for the trend event, which featured three eyeliner colors along with the tightline brush which is essential to achieving the tightline effect.

4. Chanel -It's no secret that Chanel is the trend setting source for white hot nail color. This year Mimosa is their prized la-la lacquer in a shiny yellow hue. This is a really pretty color to look at but I find that yellow and green typically make my olive toned skin look ill. Bottom line: I'll stick to last month's coral, orange and nude palettes.

5. Bobbi Brown - Behind the scenes products are always among my faves for all the work they do to make us look well rested and flawless. Bobbi's new Beauty Secret Concealer is no exception and is ready to fight in your corner. I've only touched the surface with using the creamy concealer and already have very high hopes.