Illamasqua Promise Cream Blush, $23.
What say you about the color? Do you like? Don’t like?
Illamasqua Promise Cream Blush
Makeup
Hard Candy Take Me Out Liner: Crazy Colors, Crazy Good Price
Killer eyeliner looks come naturally to Tabs. Me? It takes more work.
But sexy kitteh liner looks just got that much easier — and tres affordable — thanks to Hard Candy Take Me Out Liner ($5, and part of their permanent line).
For lords and ladies who love creamy, smooth textures and vibrant shades, these pencil liners glide on and stay put for hours with nary a budge.
Available in 20 colors that also cover a variety of finishes from subtle shimmers to metallics to glitter-heavy shades, these liners have a little something-something for almost anyone.
A Pale Girl’s Guide to Getting Bronzed
It’s May, and the sun is coming out of hiding. Many of our friends are getting a nice bronzed glow naturally from the sun. But, if you’re fair like me, your skin stays white — that is, if it’s not turning red and itchy. How do we avoid this faux-pas? We could visit a tanning salon and face premature wrinkles and an increased risk of developing skin cancer (no look is worth that!), but I personally prefer to reach into my makeup stash of bronzing products for help.
What are some of the benefits of bronzers?
Versus tanning, it’s easier to control how much bronzing product you apply. You can use a little or a lot, however much it takes to reach a look you like. Once applied, bronzers makes your skin look healthier, and many powder varieties also double as a blush.
I think bronzers makes warmer colors look better on lighter skin tones, and you get all of these benefits without the risks of fake and bake!
Finding a good bronzing product
Many bronzers have warm/orange tones that just don’t work on fair skin. Look for bronzers with grey/cool tones, which should look more natural. When purchasing a bronzer, don’t focus on how pretty the color is in the package, but think about how it will look on you.
Here are a few of my pale girl favorites!
1. Benefit Hoola
Benefit Hoola is a great bronzer that works well on many skin tones. It’s a great place to start if you’re not sure what you’re doing. You can apply with a very light hand and build up the color as needed.
2. Giorgio Armani Sheer Bronzer #1
Giorgio Armani Sheer Bronzer #1 works particularly well on very light skin tones. The product looks almost entirely gray in the pan, but it provides a nice touch of bronze to very light skin.
3. Cargo Matte Bronzer in Medium
Cargo Matte Bronzer in Medium is another great bronzer for light skin tones and looks quite natural as well.
Too Faced Makes Neutral Eye Looks Easy with Their Natural Eye Shadow Duos
I once dated a dude with a mullet.
In my defense, it was the ’80s, but I bring it up because these Too Faced Natural Eye Shadow Duos ($17) are like little mullets of the makeup world — business in the front and a party in the back. Each of the four new duos pairs a matte on one side (the bidness!) with a shimmery shadow on the other (the party!).
The duo’s are new additions to the company’s permanent collection, but if you recognize some of the names…
…that’s because some of the individual colors were liberated from last year’s Too Faced Natural Eye Kit and reassigned here to work alongside new colors.
I’ve fallen for the Sexpresso & Peach Fuzz duo. It’s the one with the dark matte brown and shimmery peach with golden glitter.
The brown has TONS of pigment, and both colors blend smoother than a good vanilla shake. For quick, no-brainer eye looks for day or night, this duo really hits the spot.
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Hard Candy Hot Smudge for Spring/Summer 2010: The $6 Dream Cream Eyeliner
If you’re totally over lugging everything and the kitchen sink around in your purse (and that includes your bloated makeup bag), can I just say I feel your pain? Here’s what I had in my over-the-shoulder boulder holder today (cat not included)…
Do you carry enough eyeliner/eyeshadow in your purse to adorn a platoon of sassy drag queens? If so, then it’s time for a makeup intervention.
Streamline that makeup bag with Hard Candy’s newest edition to their permanent line, the $6 Hot Smudge Cream Eyeliner/Smudge Shadow Duos for spring/summer 2010 (available at Wal-Mart).
Six bucks gets ya two creamy colors that work as both eyeliners and eyeshadows, along with a dual-ended brush for lining and smudging. And get this: the brush actually works! I usually throw out (or set aside) the brushes that accompany products because 9/10 times they aren’t great, but this one lays down precise lines with ease.
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The Body Shop Nomadic Goddess Baked Powder Bronzer in Warm Glow Is First to Leave the Party
Shhh… Do you hear that?
That’s the sound of The Body Shop’s new Baked Powder Bronzer in Warm Glow ($21) whispering, “Come take a closer look.” 🙂
One of two new powder bronzers in the Nomadic Goddess summer makeup collection, Warm Glow appears aptly named, imparting a golden brown sheen with hints of peachy pink and faint micro-glitter.
First, would I call it a bronzer? Well, that depends. Darker divas might find that it makes a better highlighter or blush. In my case, I don’t feel it’s dark enough to contour with, and I probably wouldn’t use it as a basic bronzer. Lighter lovelies, on the other hand, should get to use it both ways — as a bronzer or a blush — with more of the brown coming through on their skin.
The Body Shop says they make this and their other powder products by hand, baking them in terracotta discs that bind the pigments together. I can see it now… men and women dressed like cooks in a kitchen, covered from head to toe in excess powder!
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Illamasqua Blush in Lover Is Like a Coral on the Hush
When the cold goes away, the corals come out to play. It happens every summer just like clockwork; lovely little coral blushes bloom on makeup counters galore.
It’s great if you happen to love coral, but what if you feel it’s too intense for your skin tone?
Here’s an idea: you could try something like Illamasqua’s Powder Blush in Lover ($23).
It’s more of an apricot with a matte finish than a vibrant coral, subtler than, say, MAC Hipness, but with just enough pigment to give cheeks a light kiss of color.
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Neutrogena Nourishing Eyeliner: So Smooth It’s Almost Criminal
QUESTION: How smooth are Neutrogena Nourishing Eyeliners?
ANSWER: Well, they’re about a billion times smoother than this dude…
Like Tom Cruise’s feet in that scene from Risky Business, these richly pigmented $8 drugstore liners practically glide, in this case across lash and water lines.
They’re part of Neutrogena’s permanent makeup collection and come in six eye-illuminating shades — Twilight Blue, Brown Sugar, Brushed Pewter, Plum Drop, Cosmic Black and Spiced Chocolate.
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