In her Venus project, Italian artist Anna Utopia Giordano asks the question “What would have happened if the aesthetic standard of our society had belonged to the collective unconscious of the great artists of the past?”, digitally altering great classic works of art to better fit today’s waif-like standards.

I will be completely honest; some of the subjects of the paintings do look better after their waists have been tucked in and their breasts made fuller, like Richard Westall’s The Power of Venus. However, others — like Boticelli’s The Birth of Venus — just look plain wrong.

What are your thoughts on Ms. Giordano’s work?

Via Flavorwire.

Welcome to today’s installment of Cool Tool Tuesdays, where I feature a favorite item from my life and spotlight it so that others who are not familiar with the product may also benefit from it. A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, hardware, material, or website that I have personally tried and love.

Do you have any questions about today’s cool tool? Would you like an item featured in the future? Please leave a comment to this post, or send me a message via my contact form. Enjoy!

As I looked around my room to find inspiration for today’s Cool Tool Tuesdays, my eyes rested on a pair of products I have never written about before — and I couldn’t believe I haven’t, because I have been using it diligently for the past five years!

This products are La Mer’s The Powder loose powder and The Powder Brush.

I think that the reason I had failed to mention them in the past is because I do not consider it an essential part of my beauty routine. In other words, I — like most women — can certainly live without loose powder.

However, I believe that they deserve a post because they are the only beauty products, aside from  my beloved MAC Liquidlast liner, that I truly consider HG (“Holy Grail” in makeup talk) because I honestly have never found any product that even comes close.

La Mer’s The Powder is one of the most finely-milled loose powders I have ever seen. It comes in four shades, including translucent (I use Crème), and it leaves a soft, luminous finish that is unparalleled: not too matte with just the teeniest amount of dewiness to make it look natural. In fact, many reviewers use the word “angelic” to describe the finish that The Powder gives you — and they’re right!

The Powder Brush is a retractable brush that is designed for both pressed and loose powder application, and just like The Powder, many users seem to become smitten with it after just one use.

Now I’m not sure if The Powder would work just as well with another brush (I’ve never tried it with other brushes because I got them together and I don’t own another powder brush), but I do know that The Powder Brush must at least play a small part in delivering the phenomenal result.

I like to use The Powder to set my makeup and add a finished look to my face. These days I’ll use it over BB Cream and that works just fine — while The Brush is still retracted, I’ll take the compacted, half-an-inch or so end of the brush that sticks out of the tube to dip into The Powder and pat under my eyes to ensure that my eye makeup stays in place. Then I will fully extend The Brush, apply more of The Powder and fluff it over my entire face.

The Powder is pretty expensive at $65 and The Powder Brush even more so at $75.   But you know what? I am still using the same powder and brush I bought over five years ago. The Powder seriously seems to last forever, because even if I only used it once a week (and I know I’ve used it much more often than that), that’s over 260 applications!

What’s more, I still have 1/3 of a bottle left! 

The only complaint I have about either of the products is that The Brush’s casing is not scratch resistant, and mine is covered in ugly scratches from the times I have traveled with it. But it still works fine, and that’s what’s important.

I highly recommend that everyone reading this go visit their closest La Mer counter and try these for themselves!

…and the use of circle lenses, wigs, and double eyelid tape/glue.

I have talked about the power of makeup before, and some of these Asian girls seem to take it a little too far!

Via Absolutely Fobulous.

French macaron company Ladurée is delving into the world of cosmetics, and the packaging for each makeup item is just as pretty and delicate as their existing branding.

The collection includes blushes, foundations, and lip colors inspired by their sweets, while the name is derived from the Merveilleuses of 18th century France, who were known for their extravagant, decadent behavior, and fashion styles inspired by the ancient Greek and Romans. The line places an emphasis on blushes with three different formulas, as during the age of the Merveilleuses, blushing the cheeks was the main means of playing up one’s feminine allure.

There is no word yet on the quality of the products, but judging by the exquisite packaging — as well as the quality of the company’s macarons! — I have no doubt that they will be just as delightful.

The bad news? This marvelous line of cosmetics will only be available in Japan.  But for those who are interested, the line will debut at Mitsukoshi department store in Ginza, Tokyo on January 29th, where there will also be a limited edition miniature size of the Face Color Rose Ladurée blush petals in a box for 3360¥.

Via NOTCOT. 

I have decided to take a holiday break from blogging. So barring unforeseen circumstances, this will be my last entry until 2012.

I won’t be completely offline though. You can still find me sporadically posting stuff on my Facebook Page, Pinterest, and Twitter.

But because I didn’t want to keep you guys completely hanging for over a week…

And because my last BB Cream giveaway was so popular…

(And because everyone should have a chance at great skin in 2012… )

I have decided to host another BB Cream giveaway!

And this time, you will have three chances to win as I will be
giving away three tubes of BB Creams!

And, just like last time, the winners will be able to choose a tube from the following six options:

(from left to right:)

• MISSHA M Perfect Cover (in shade 21 or 23)
• Lioele Beyond Solution
• SKIN79 Pink Label
• Dr. Jart+ Silver Label
• SKIN79 Gold Label
• Hanskin Super Magic

And if you would like more information on them, please feel free to refer back to my original post on BB Creams.

As a mother of “two under 2″ I hardly wear makeup anymore, but when I do I only apply BB Cream and some lip stain. (If I have an additional 2 minutes I’ll add some eyeliner and blush.) And sometimes, I use BB Cream not for the coverage but for its skin-enhancing properties.

If you can recall, my favorite used to be the Dr. Jart+ Silver Label for the oil control it provided. But my post-partum skin has been dry and flaky — not the oily cesspool that was my pregnancy skin. As a result, I have started to use MISSHA M Perfect Cover and it is perfect for my needs.

That being said, the SKIN79 Pink Label is the most popular of all my friends who use BB Cream. (And I am not just saying this because it’s the cheapest of the bunch!)

And while I know that BB Creams are now starting to become available stateside at stores like Sephora, I have decided not to include those in the giveaway because I have read that they are not nearly as good as the BB Creams above.

In other words, I have gathered above some of the most popular
and best BB Creams in the market! And you have not only one,
but THREE chances to win!

Now, onto the giveaway!

As before, I will be using Rafflecopter to run this giveaway. Not sure how to use Rafflecopter? Watch this 45 second video for a tutorial on how to enter a giveaway using Rafflecopter. There are 5 methods of entry, with the first method (commenting on this blog post) being mandatory while the third method (Tweeting about the giveaway) can be used once per day:

The winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter on January 1, 2012 and will be announced here then. The winners will be notified via an email or a Twitter DM, so please use a valid email and/or Twitter handle so that I can contact you if you win.

Good luck to all those to enter! Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year!