guest post

Blinc Eyebrow Mousse: Help for Overplucked Brows

November 1st, 2009 by Karen 8 Comments

MBB guest post! Today UK-based bridal makeup artist Rochelle O’brien tells us what we should know about Blinc Eyebrow Mousse.

Blinc Inc Eyebrow Mousse

Fountain of Youthful Colour Eyebrow Mousse, the newest edition to Blinc’s range of bestselling products, is designed to give fullness and colour to sparse brows. As well as having a long lasting colour formula, it also has anti-ageing properties to benefit the skin beneath your brows, too.

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I love that all Blinc products come in cute little tins — they appeal to the packaging geek in me — and their eyebrow mousse is no different.

The applicator looks like a regular mascara wand, and the information leaflet explains that you to start by brushing the wand through your brows to build up the colour before using the tip of the wand to add fullness where you need it.

Now, my brows have never been the same since I plucked them all out back in the late ’80s, and it would take a lot to drag me away from my trusty Clinique brow pencil that I use daily; however, after trying Blinc’s brow mousse, I could well be converted.
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The EcoTools Cleansing Sponge: A Poor Girl’s Clarisonic

October 31st, 2009 by Karen 17 Comments

MBB guest post! We’ve been put on notice tonight — theNotice, that is. The delightful Rae of theNotice blog shares one of her favorite drugstore beauty products, the EcoTools Cleansing Sponge.

Ecotools cleansing pad A
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When Karen asked if I would do a guest post for Makeup and Beauty Blog, I didn’t know where to start (I rarely do). I asked her for direction, and she suggested drugstore beauty.
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“Hm!” I thought. “I’ll have so much to talk about!”
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But I thought. And I thought. And I blew the house down.
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Well, no, not really. But I did come to realize that less of my makeup stash comes from drugstores than I previously thought.
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But this is actually great news for you (no, really, it is). It basically means that if I’ve kept a drugstore item, it’s a darned good one.

Take these EcoTools Cleansing Sponges ($9 for a pack of 12), for instance. They’re one of my drugstore holy grails.
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Frizz for a Cause: Who, How and Why to Donate Your Hair

October 30th, 2009 by Karen 20 Comments

MBB guest post! Today the fantabulous Christina Olson of Too Pretty For This (a great blog!) shares the ins and outs of hair donation.

christina too pretty for this 3

I have been having a series of amazing hair days.

This is big news, because curly-haired me got a haircut last week — just in time for Virginia’s wet weather to begin.

If you’re a curly girl, too, you might be wondering why I’m thrilled with my “amazing” huge, frizzy hair. It’s not a look I normally attempt or embrace.

What makes it different is the reason: I cut off 10 inches last week for Pantene Beautiful Lengths, a non-profit organization that provides custom-made wigs to women fighting cancer. If you’re anything like me, hair can make or break your attitude toward the day and really affect your self-image. So while I might have a few rough run-ins with the mirror, I’m honored by the opportunity to help provide some good hair days to a brave woman I’ll never meet.

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According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 1.5 million Americans will be diagnosed with some form of cancer by the end of the year, and more than 500,000 people will die of it before New Year’s Day. I’m not smart enough to figure out a way to prevent, cure, or better treat cancer… though I wish I could. So while other people are working on that, I cut off some hair.

christina too pretty for this
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MINX Nail Coverings: High Fashion for Nails

July 14th, 2009 by Karen 28 Comments

Today Johnie of The Beauty Junkie blog talks about a fun way to let your fingers do the talking.

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Have you heard of MINX nail coverings yet? I ask because they’ve taken the beauty world by storm.

I caught my first glimpse of MINX nails about 10 months ago in one of the many beauty magazines that gets delivered monthly to my mailbox (always such a good mail day when one of those arrives!). Rhianna was sporting them in silver chrome, and I was like, “WHERE do I get some of those?” Her nails looked amazing and done to perfection.

Back then MINX were brand spankin’ new, and nobody had heard of them before, including the people at most salons.

Since then things have changed.

Now, they regularly appear in magazines, being worn by more and more celebrities. Beyonce is a huge fan and gets caught wearing MINX a lot, and the product’s getting more press all the time.

My first MINX manicure

Salons all across America are getting into the trend, and I was finally able to get my first MINX manicure about a week ago.

I don’t live in a big city like Atlanta, New York City or anyplace like that, yet there are already two salons in my area offering MINX. If I can get my hands on them where I live — rather, get them on my hands — you probably can too.

So what the heck are MINX nail coverings?

Literally, they’re adhesive nail stickers available in a wide range of colors and patterns.

You can go with a seasonal look, a plain jane solid or just go crazy with something outrageous; they have it all.

The variety is what makes these the coolest nail art I’ve ever seen, and the selection continues to grow.

I was told by my salon tech that they can now even do custom MINX nail coverings. If, for example, there’s a particular pattern or print you love, you can send a sample to MINX to turn into your very own design. Pretty cool, huh?
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Nubar’s Going, Going Green in a Big Way

July 7th, 2009 by Karen 17 Comments

Today the lovely (and friendly) Kelly of Vampy Varnish shares a review of Nubar’s new collection of green nail polishes for summer.

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Nubar — if you haven’t heard of it yet, you’re about to! 🙂

Nubar has a huge array of nail polishes in various colors and finishes, everything from pale pink to orange to black, and finishes from creme to shimmer to glitter.

Beyond that, they’re also a responsible nail polish company, meaning that their polishes don’t contain the “Big 3” worst offending chemicals found in many brands of nail polish: DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde.

They’ve partnered with PETA and are now certified Vegan and Cruelty-Free, and their bottles will soon be branded with a logo to show their exciting new status.

To honor the accomplishment, Nubar has released the Going Green Collection of six, very different green polishes. For a lot of polish junkies, green is the *Holy Grail* of colors, and for a company to release six at once just blows the mind!!

The formula for this whole collection is really fabulous, as most Nubar’s tend to be. I didn’t have any streaking, bubbling, cuticle drag or any issues with these, and they were all done with two coats.

Reclaim

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Holographic greens aren’t very common, and Reclaim is a gorgeous one. The color is a sort of muted grass green, and as you can see the rainbow effect is downright amazing.

Wildlife

nubar-going-green-wildlife

Wildlife is a very interesting and strange color and, of course, turned out to be my favorite one!

It’s very hard to describe — like a khaki green duochrome that flashes gold and pink, depending on the lighting. It’s a shade you’ll either love or hate, and it’s definitely not for the color shy.
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How To Be “That Gal” with Benefit That Gal Brightening Face Primer

June 25th, 2009 by Karen 26 Comments

Today makeup artist Johnie of The Beauty Junkie blog talks up the benefits of Benefit’s That Gal brightening face primer.

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I’ve always wanted to be “that gal,” and now I can thanks to Benefit’s pretty and pink That Gal ($28) brightening primer.

It’s one of those magic Holy Grail products I’m recommending all the time, and I cannot say enough good things about it!

I’d tried many primers before Benefit blessed the world with That Gal…

I know everyone loves the Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer ($36), but I could never get it to work for me. It felt greasy to me and didn’t seem to make a big difference. I know everyone in the makeup world will probably hang me for saying this, but I just feel like it’s overrated.

Not like That Gal.

It’s a silky pink primer with light reflecting pigments to brighten the complexion, and it comes in an interesting glue-stick like container. You click the base, dispensing the product out of the vent at the top. A few clicks is enough to do my entire face.

Why I like it

I see a huge difference when I use this stuff. It…

visibly brightens my skin,
makes my complexion appear more even and smooth,
helps keep my skin hydrated throughout the day,
helps my makeup stay put, and
makes my foundation go on a lot smoother.

I cannot go a day without using it and keep a backup at all times.

One small downside

The only downside I’ve found is that I can’t tell when I’m about to run out. It’s not clear how much product remains in the tube until it’s empty (click click click), which is why I keep a backup. That was a lesson I learned the hard way.

Application tips

One way to apply it is after your moisturizer but before your foundation; that’s for a smoother application.

Another way is to apply throughout the day on top of makeup to re-brighten the complexion.

It also works when worn alone, like on one of those “no makeup days” to keep the complexion from looking too dull and to help the skin look more even-toned. That’s how I’ll wear it sometimes, when I’m going to the gym or going out to run quick errands.

Also, I would like to add that my skin is more on the dry side, but I’ve used That Gal on dry, combo, and oily skin types and find it works for all of them. If, however, you’re crazy oil slick oily, then I might give it a test run before committing to a purchase.

It retails for $28 (0.37 fl. oz. tube), which I find lasts me about 3 months, but I use it every single day; a few clicks goes a long way.

As Benefit puts it, “It’s That Gal perfection for a happy complexion!” — so find your happy complexion today. 🙂

This post was written by Johnie, makeup artist and beauty blogger behind The Beauty Junkie blog.

MAC Cosmetics Meets Star Trek in This Face of the Day

June 20th, 2009 by Karen 13 Comments

Guest blogging from Argentina, MBB reader Marcela shares her take on a Star Trek inspired face of the day using some of her favorite products from MAC Cosmetics.

Star Trek inspired makeup

Hi, everyone!

My name is Marcela. I’m no trekkie, having never watched any movies beginning with “Star” (Star Wars, anyone?), but hey, there are a couple (or a lot) of you out there who DO like sci-fi movies, so this FOTD is for you.

Now, this look is a sultry and dark, smoky black and gold eye — maybe a bit over the top, but you can tone it down (or switch it up!).

I don’t know why, but I didn’t line my bottom lash line with black. I’m sure that would have given the look a bit more va va voom!

The long winged liner was inspired by Spock’s upturned eyebrows, and the colors by — wait for it — a starry night!

Very original indeed… 🙂

Anyway, I liked how it turned out. I hope you do, too.

Here are the products I used:

Face

Foundation: La Roche Posay Toleraine (applied with a sponge wedge)
Powder: MAC Mineralized Skinfinish in Medium Dark (applied all over)
Blush: A shimmery golden bronze blush
Contour: MAC Mineralized Skinfinish in Dark
Highlight: The shimmery side of the MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Duo in Dark

Eyes

Primer: Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Eyelid base: Any black cream shadow (applied to the outer 2/3 of the lid)
Eyelid inner corner: A mix of MAC Eye Shadow in Sumptuous Olive and MAC Flip (or any other bright gold shadow)
Eyelid: MAC Solar Bits in Black Ore (applied with MAC Mixing Medium over a black cream shadow)
Crease: MAC Eye Shadow in Carbon
Brow Highlight: MAC Eye Shadow in Modest Tone
Tearduct: MAC Eye Shadow in Solar White
Liner, Upper: MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
Liner, Lower: MAC Eye Shadow in Flip
Mascara: Givenchy Eye Fly

Lips

Lipstick: A flesh-tone lipstick like MAC Lipstick in Myth
Lipgloss: The peachy bronze gloss from Tarte’s Purse Your Lips Clutch applied under MAC Lipglass in Pink Grapefruit
Finish: A dab of a peachy gold pigment in the middle of the bottom lip
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S.O.S. Skincare: Clarins Skin Beauty Repair Concentrate

June 13th, 2009 by Karen 10 Comments

Today reader Christine shares how an oil-based product finally soothed her highly sensitive, naturally oily skin.

clarins-skin-beauty-repair-concentrate

Oil for oily skin??

Lately, I’ve been intrigued by the idea of using oil on my skin… It’s a scary thought, after all, since I already have oily skin.

I joined the cleansing oil band wagon after a recent discovery, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it to say the least. 🙂

I made my new discovery a few weeks ago after suffering a terrible breakout. I’d picked at my skin out of desperation, going the whole 9-yards…steaming, extracting, exfoliating — you name it, I did it!

I decided to venture out to the mall to search for something to gently calm my sensitive skin. Without having anything particular in mind, I aimlessly wandered around Macy’s just browsing the skin products.

Clarins to the rescue!

That’s when I came across the Clarins counter and their sensitive skin section. Though their day and night creams sounded great, I was more interested in their Skin Beauty Repair Concentrate. At $59 USD for 0.5 oz, it was quite a hefty price.

The bottle says: “Apply to face or to sensitive areas, using light, sweeping movements.”

On Clarins’ website they state: “An emergency S.O.S. skin care treatment for sensitive skin. Immediately calms irritated skin, decongests and reduces a red appearance. Its ultra-soothing formula contains 90% plant extracts to help restore weakened tissues.”

For the record, my skin was in bad condition prior to giving Skin Beauty Repair a try.
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