Below is some great reading this week from members of the Beauty Blog Network. Enjoy!

Phyrra ushers you into Fall the new collection from Silk Naturals.

Thu from Painted Ladies reviews Benefit’s They’re Real! mascara.

Is it a keeper? The Pink Sith has finally found a full cover foundation that doesn’t look or feel like a mask with DEX New York Mineral Retouch!

A Touch of Blusher reviews Burberry Light Glow in Peony Blush.

Beauty and Fashion Tech has updated its buyer’s guide on Home Microdermabrasion.

Girl Gloss has MAC Art of Powders Swatches.

Elke shares every single nail look from New York Fashion Week. Thanks to CND.

Cinnamon Kitten falls for Annabelle’s Smudge Paint.

Disclosures: Girl Gloss at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page

About the Author: Carleen Coulter

How cute is this? Tokidoki Roller Ball Fragrance Sticks!

Six Tokidoki fragrances are available in the roller ball collection:

• Adieu: A mix of Black Berry, Strawberry, Juicy Orange, Tiare Flower, Water Lotus, Creamy Vanilla, and Cashmere Woods.
• Adios: With fragrances of Lemon Leaves, Pink Grapefruit, Cyclamen, Day Lilies, Pink Orchid, Lotus Blossom, White Musk, Peach Skin, and Crystallized Woods.
• Ciao Ciao: A blend of Water Hyacinth, Out of the Shower Accord, Muguet, Day Lily, Sheer Jasmine Petals, Musk, and Sun-Drenched Woods.
• Donutella: A collection o fRaspberry, Bright Bergamot, Muguet, Jasmine Sambac, Sandalwood, Vanilla, and Musk.
• Sandy: A fragrant mix of Pear Blossom, Freesia, Honeysuckle, Gardenia, Hint of Vanilla, and Amber Musk.
• Siberia: With scents of Cool Aldehydes, Muguet Petals, Night Blooming Jasmine, White Orchid, White Musk, and Soft Woods.

The collection is adorable and is getting rave reviews. Each roller ball stick is $18 at Sephora.

Wedding rings are a ubiquitous aspect of Western society. Wherever you go, you are likely to see them on all different types of fingers. Indeed, in a society like contemporary America that seems to eschew any cultural artifact that is more than a few minutes old, and where so many cultures have blended that cultural heritage to almost nonexistence, the wedding ring has prevailed as a cultural icon that is still widely accepted and used. But despite, or perhaps because of, this ubiquity, there is an incredible diversity of wedding rings. They range from the simplest bands to the most elaborate works of jewel-encrusted art, and each unique ring signifies something about the personality and social status of the wearer. If a new wedding ring might be in store for your future, it is worthwhile to know a little about all the different kinds of rings so that you can find the one that suits you best.

• The Simple Gold Band

It’s easy to immediately peg this ring as merely the least expensive, but there are many other reasons why a simple ring might be the best. They are popular as men’s wedding rings, because of their understated appearance. The gold for bands is available in many different colors so that you can make your ring truly unique.

• Semi Mount Rings

Diamond semi mount rings are a special type of ring that comes without a center stone, leaving instead an empty slot where a center stone picked by the wearer can be fitted. These are popular with people who might have their own stone, perhaps a family heirloom, which they wish to wear in their ring. With a semi mount ring you can select any stone or diamond and have it custom fit into the ring.

• Diamond Rings

These are perhaps the most commonplace in the popular imagination, complete with a large (in some cases, enormous) center diamond. Some people like these rings because of their great beauty and worth, while others find them too ostentatious. As with all rings, it is simply a matter of personal taste.

• The Tattoo “Ring”

Yes, this does exist. Some people opt to have a “ring” tattooed on their finger rather than wearing a traditional band. There can be many reasons for wanting to do this, but in any case, it is certainly harder to take off than a conventional ring!

Jessica writes about a wide variety of topics.  She especially enjoys writing about jewelry. You can learn more about diamond semi mount rings at http://www.frontjewelers.net

Disclosure: This is an advertorial post

Disclosure: This is an advertorial post.

I love the bright shades of the MAC Alice+Oliva Collection, due out on July 8, 2010. If you want to see some nail polish swatches and a comparison of Partylicious Pigment (also pictured here) to MAC Parrot eye shadow, head on over to my post at Beauty and Fashion Tech: MAC Alice + Olivia Nail Polish Swatches

Below are swatches of the Dazzle Glass Creme shades from the line. Partylicious Pigment is tossed in there as well since I was being efficient and did a swatch for multiple blogs at once!

Shades: If Its Pink , I Want Candy, and Sparkilicious

It is pretty lip gloss, but I just can’t see myself wearing the yellow. Sparkilicious works nicely over various lip shades for me, and the Partylicious pigment really is stunning, as are the nail polish shades.

All proceeds from sales of MAC cosmetics Viva Glam go to AIDS charities through the MAC AIDS Fund. This year, the MAC Viva Glam spokeswomen are Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper. Great choices in my opinion! Also this year, the lip shades are not deep reds, unlike many past years.

The new VIVA GLAM collection has two lipsticks – Viva Glam Cyndi (Light Coral Red) and Viva Glam Gaga (Light Blue Pink), as well as corresponding makeup bags.

Both MAC Viva Glam shades are quite nice. For the pink lovers, the Lady Gaga is a pretty, but still a bit vibrant light pink. the Cyndi Lauper Viva Glam shade is my favorite though. It is a nice coral red that gives a sheer neutral  to warm rosy red look. It lean toward coral, but not as much as the description would make it seem.

Below are swatches of the two shades. It is a total coincidence that they happened to perfectly match my Hello Kitty Band-Aid. Yes, I really do wear Hello Kitty Band-Aids (blush)!

Here is a better look without the Band-Aid

I suspect that I will be wearing the Cyndi Lauper Viva Glam shade quite a bit this spring.

Lip plumpers are rather hit and miss when it comes to effectiveness. The article below, syndicated from Total Beauty focuses on trying to find the best lip plumpers, which they apparently define as  a “pain free” lip plumper that works. Frankly, I don’t think such a thing exists. Lip plumpers that actually work do so by irritating the lips, causing them to swell. Although I would not use the word “pain” for the sensation, the best lip plumpers do tingle and such, some rather strongly! But I actually like the lip plumping sensation.

Anyway, apparently Total Beauty readers don’t care for Maybelline Volume XL, which  I happen to rather like because, as far as lip plumpers go, it actually shows some results. They liked Patricia Wexler, which I think is a nice gloss, but not a very effective plumper. In fact the reader favorites tend to be nice glosses, which make for nicely kissable lips, but I don’t find them to actually do much plumping. I have not, however, tried the favorite in the list.

Do you have a favorite lip plumper? If so, please share it in the comments!

Lip Plumpers: The Good and The Bad

See which plumpers gave readers full, kissable lips (and which ones did absolutely nothing)

Jealous of Angelina Jolie’s lips? Our loyal readers share the lip plumpers that gave them just the right amount of plumping, shine and color, as well as the ones that gave them red, swollen, bee-stung lips. Ouch. See products

The DuWop Plumparazzi Kit is a great way to try out several Duwop lip products at once.

Duwop lip venom is one of the better plumpers out there. not the best, but pretty  good. this kit includes a mini lip venom and also has three additional DuWop items.
The set contains:
- 0.35 oz Plumping Paste
- 0.07 oz Prime Venom
- 0.12 oz Lip Venom
- 0.17 oz Venom Gloss Lantana