Blaq Vixen Beauty

Arriving at a post BET Awards party, Keri Hilson was the third celebrity to be treated to a manicure by celebrity manicurist Kimmie Kyees. She is wearing the OPI Axxium Gel Lacquer with silver glitter tips. On her ring finger, Kyees glued black Swarovski crystals and topped it off with a black glitter tip. For Keri's pedicure, Kyees used "Sally Hansen in 220," which could possibly be Cafe Au Lait.

This look could be easily requested at your local nail salon. In fact, my mom and sister have had the pleasure of experimenting with the different glitter gel tip combinations available at J. Nails here in San Antonio.

Anika Noni Rose attended the 12th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards yesterday. Celebrity makeup artist Samuel Paul beautified the Princess and the Frog star for the event. "[Anika] wanted an old hollywood glamour feel to her hair and makeup," Paul revealed. He used MAC Cosmetics and Ardell Lashes.

eyes. Paul blended MAC Eyeshadow in Dazzlelight all over the lid. In the corners, he applied MAC Eyeshadow in Shadowy Lady. He lined Rose's eyes with MAC Fluidline in BlackTrack. For the false eyelashes, Paul turned to Ardell Lashes.

cheeks. Rose is wearing MAC Powder Blush in Sweet as Cocoa on her cheeks.

lips. Would you believe that Rose is wearing MAC Lipstick in Girl About Town?! Paul toned out this amplified creme with MAC Lip Pencil in Auburn.

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Editor's Note: The products mentioned in this article have been provided by IMAN Cosmetics, Pencil Me In Cosmetics, and Ardell for editorial consideration. Please make sure to follow IMAN Cosmetics on Twitter and join the fan page! Iman is holding a Holidays 2009 Beauty Sweepstakes which ends on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 11:55pm. You can win $64 worth of IMAN Cosmetics!

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Described as "the best eye candy glitter ever" by Iman, you might be hesitant about applying IMAN Cosmetics Luxury Liquid Eyeliner. However, I urge you to not deny yourself a chance to sparkle! If you apply a touch of IMAN Luxury Liquid Eyeliner in Copper to the inner corners of your eyes, you won't have to worry about it looking too heavy or extravagant. Just blend it until there's a hint of sparkle. This is exact shade and technique that Iman sported on The Wendy Williams Show. Of course, you could use any of the four shades but if you're not keen on glitter, start with Copper first.

I tested IMAN Luxury Liquid Eyeliner in Platinum and IMAN Luxury Liquid Eyeliner in Sapphire. I've found a few ways to create different looks with these liners:

Apply to the upper lash line. Extend IMAN Luxury Liquid Eyeliner beyond the outer edge of your lash line to create an edgy, sexy metallic  cat eye. I'm planning to wear my LA BELLE Beaded Goddess Bubble Dress soon and I wanted to create an effortless, glamorous look. IMAN Luxury Liquid Eyeliner in Platinum is the perfect product to complement my outfit. Platinum is liquid aluminum foil in a bottle. If you have a penchant for bold, dramatic shades, Platinum is a must-have!

Apply your favorite black liner, add your favorite false lashes and trace the base of the lashes with IMAN Luxury Liquid Eyeliner. While it might seem obvious to reach for Onyx to keep the look uniform, why not try Sapphire? How would I describe this mythic hue? Imagine crushing dark sapphire, Bermuda Blue and Heliotrope Swarovski crystals into a fine, liquid paste. That's IMAN's Sapphire. With Pencil Me In Cosmetics Healthy Eyeliner Pencils in Jet Sparks as my base,  I'd reach for Ardell Fashion Lashes in #131 and the Fashion Lashes Starter Kit to complete the look.

Lastly, I'd like to provide you with another look: Combine spiky, separated lashes with vibrant eyeliner. Rihanna wore spiky, separated lashes with a thick fuchsia line on her upper lash line at the launch party for the Nokia X6 in London. If you want to recreate this look, use Ardell Fashion Lashes in #102 Demi or #104. Coat the lower lash line (or upper lash line) with any of the IMAN Luxury Liquid Eyeliners. Go with a glossy, light pink or nude gloss.

Since I just blogged about CoverGirl LashBlast Length, I figured I'd share my thoughts on CoverGirl LashBlast Luxe right quick.

Basically my review of CoverGirl LashBlast applies for LashBlast Luxe. I said, "The first time, I had to learn how to work the brush. It was sort of difficult to reach the tiny inner lashes as well as the lashes in the outer corners of my eyes. Don't get me started on applying mascara on my bottom lashes - I recommend that you have several Q-Tips dipped in makeup remover on hand when applying this mascara unless you can manage not to get the product on your lids or under eye area."

Well, since you have to apply several coats of LashBlast Luxe for the glitter to show up, it's that much more important to have eye makeup remover and Q-tips handy, unless you don't mind the gathering of sparkling fall-out that's sure to gather underneath your eyes and on your cheeks. I use my Clean and Clear Soothing Eye Makeup Remover (making sure I shook it well beforehand) and a couple of Q-Tips from my Vanity Pack (in draft). However, I think it would be nice to have a Myrabelle Mascara Shield. Sometimes, my eyes twitch (especially when I try to tightline) or my hand is a bit shaky, so I rather invest in this yield to save time and effort trying to remove smudges of mascara and eyeliner on my upper lids and on my waterline.

Here's the brush for Black Cabernet:

As you can see, Black Cabernet looks more like a metallic, plum shade with red flecks. If you look closely, you can see the tiny bit of red at the tips of my lashes.

Afterwards, it seemed like my lashes were encrusted with finely milled Swarovski crystals. As for application, I shared that I "just used my brush one way" when I used CoverGirl LashBlast. With this one, I applied the mascara vertically and horizontally, working each lash to give me the length and thickness that I craved. Then I made sure to hit the very tips of my lashes so that they were coated with LashBlast Luxe sparkling formula. I also wanted to give the optical illusion that my lashes were extending past their usual length.