guest post

Chevron Nails Are Trending Up For Summer, and They’re Easier Than They Look

April 26th, 2012 by Karen 22 Comments

About the Author
This guest post was written by Sammy of The Naulasaurus. You can also find Sammy on Twitter, Facebook and Etsy.

Chevron nails, sometimes called the reverse French mani, are trending up for summer. They’re funky and unusual, and way easier to do yourself than they look. Believe it or not, all a girl needs for these is a little know-how, some nail polish and a bit of scotch tape.

You’ll need…

Scotch tape, and if you don’t have any on hand, you can use masking tape or sellotape instead.
Two Summery colours of your choice. Today I’ve chosen NYC Lexington Yellow and Rimmel Urban Princess.
A clear top coat.

Step 1:

Paint on your base colour, and wait for it to dry completely. You could even use a fast drying top coat like Seche Vite to speed up the process. Make sure this is the lighter colour of the two because we’ll be painting the other colour over the top.

Step 2:

Use your scotch tape to mark off a triangle at the base of your nail. Be warned! If your base coat isn’t 100 percent dry, the tape will definitely ruin the whole mani.

I learned this the hard way when I first started using tape in my manicures. My impatience led to a lot of frustration when I kept pulling off my polish with the tape before it was dry.

You can stick the tape to the back of your hand before you use it on your nails to remove some of the stickiness if you think it will mess with your base colour.

Step 3:

One nail at a time, paint the second colour over the nail and tape, and immediately go to step 4…

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What Do Pink Cheetahs Have in Common With Kisses? Violent Lips Temporary Lip Tattoos

January 7th, 2012 by Karen 20 Comments

Written by Clare

When lipstick and gloss just won’t do, perhaps a pink cheetah will work better for you. Find out more in today’s guest post from Clare.

Violent Lips in Pink Cheetah

First things first

I’m a makeup-obsessive from way back, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about makeup, it’s that you can make almost anything work. Colour should never hold you back, and you shouldn’t be afraid to rock a bold lip if you feel like it.

Bold lips, huh? Well…they don’t come much bolder than Violent Lips. If you haven’t heard of them before, they’re vitamin-enhanced, vegan-friendly lip appliquÃ©s tested on celebrities, not animals, and above all, they’re temporary!

Violent Lips Temporary Lip Tattoos

Kim Kardashian and her sisters Khloe and Kylie recently posted twitpics wearing them. I’d already sourced some myself and figured it was about time to figure out if the company’s tutorial was as easy to follow as it looked.

What you’ll need to get started

In each pack of Violent Lips, you’ll find three sets of lip appliquÃ©s — three top lips and three bottom — easily separated, in case you make any mistakes and need to use half of another set.
The directions, which can be found on the back. They’re very basic, so you might need to refer to a tutorial to fill in the blanks because, for example, the directions don’t mention that you’ll also need water.
Water
A cotton pad
Scissors
A mirror
Violent Lips in Pink Cheetah (or any of the other 76 varieties)

Violent Lips Temporary Lip Tattoos

Ladies, start your engines!

Firs, make sure you start with dry, un-moisturised lips, and you don’t want to be wearing any other products. That’s important, because if you already have something on your lips, your Violent Lips won’t stick.

Violent Lips Temporary Lip Tattoos
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How I Finally Managed To Deep Clean the Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush

October 30th, 2011 by Karen 59 Comments

Written by Juli

What happens when a brush with destiny meets an unstoppable force? I’m not sure, but we’re about to find out thanks to today’s guest post from Juli.

Deep Clean the Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush

Good things should be shared amongst friends, but great things must be shared with the world!

Dirty makeup brushes and tools are some of the many things that can cause breakouts and otherwise irritate the skin. I know that mine reacts violently whenever I subject it to a foundation brush that hasn’t been cleaned for more than two weeks, so I always try to keep the things in my kit as clean as possible.

But sometimes that’s easier said than done.

For instance, when I couldn’t get the muck off of my Sigma F80 Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki Brush, I became a very frustrated girl.

The regular shampoo method wasn’t doing the job at all…and olive oil didn’t work much better.

Deep Clean the Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush

As a matter of fact, olive oil probably did my Sigma F80 more harm than good. I spent more than 45 minutes one day trying to remove all of the oil from the bristles. It had mixed with the remaining liquid foundation in the brush, and no matter how hard I scrubbed with shampoo and detergent, the olive oil and dried foundation flakes wouldn’t budge.

It looked pretty disgusting too…

Deep Clean the Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush

I’d subjected the brush to extremely vehement abuse, scrubbing the bristles like I would an elephant’s hide, and letting water flow from the tip into the ferrule in an attempt to dislodge the stubborn oil. I even threw it on the floor once hoping it would miraculously learn its lesson and self-clean (sorry).

I hated cleaning the Sigma F80 brush so much that I started to dread the weekends, because that’s when I deep clean my brushes every week.

After considering its rave reviews, I tried MAC Brush Cleanser, hoping that a high-end brand would perform a miracle, but repeatedly dunking the F80 into a cup of MAC’s cleanser only removed a teeny bit of gunk, and the dense bristles soaked up a lot of product…

Hey, hey! Expensive product there, don’t drink it up so quickly, yo! I even tried to dilute the MAC brush cleanser with water, but that also didn’t help much.

Then, one day I was just reading blogs and chanced upon a product that would change my life — okie, more like cut my brush-washing time tremendously.

Jang! Jang! Presenting the Daiso Detergent for Puff and Sponge!

Deep Clean the Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush

Before taking these pics, I made sure to get the bristles really brown and dirty to give you that “OMGIGOTTAHAVETHIS!!” effect when you see the brush returned to its pristine white condition. Hoho.

So, here’s my dirty Sigma F80 Brush. For the purposes of showing how the cleanser works, you can replace it with any brush you like.

Deep Clean the Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush
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How to Make a DIY Mojito Salt Scrub with Mango Butter

October 2nd, 2011 by Karen 31 Comments

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Jenny of My Funny Valentine. You can also find Jenny on Twitter.

DIY Mojito Salt Scrub with Mango Butter

There’s something so rewarding about making your own skin care products. You have total control over the quality of the ingredients that go into your creations, the feel of the product, and the scent of the product (I’m only a control freak when it comes to skin care, I promise!).

I personally love salt body scrubs. If you’ve ever been to my house you know that my shower area is cluttered with jars of scrubs of every description — some store bought, but mostly ones that I’ve made myself. It feels amazing to massage a handful of scrub into your skin after a long day, and the salt scrubs that I make leave my skin both polished and moisturised.

So, why did I make a scrub based on mojitos? Well, because mojitos are just the BOMB!

This particular scrub is super easy to make, even if you’ve never made DIY bath and body products before. Unlike some DIY oil-based scrubs, this one rinses clean because it has a built-in emulsifier.

Ingredients

You should be able to find all of these at your local health food store, or online at stores like Garden of Wisdom Skin Care.

10g mango butter (weight 0.35 oz)
5g cetyl alcohol (weight 0.18 oz)
20g olive oil (weight 0.7 oz)
7g avocado oil (weight 0.25 oz)
7g pomegranate oil (weight 0.25 oz)
10 drops peppermint essential oil
10 drops lime essential oil
3 drops grapefruit essential oil
1g vitamin E 500IU (roughly 2/3 tspn)
0.8g Polysorbate 80 (roughly Â½ tspn)
A few drops of optiphen
70g salt

Mojito Salt Scrub
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Don’t Miss These Great Guest Posts

September 17th, 2011 by Karen 6 Comments

Great Guest Posts at Makeup and Beauty Blog

I’m really proud of the guest bloggers who’ve submitted posts to MBB over the past couple of years. First, because I know how much time and effort can go into putting together a review or a tutorial, especially one you really care about, and second, because I can be a perfectionist (see, it’s not just Tabs). In some cases, I ask guest bloggers to retake some of their photographs or revise their written drafts, always trying to make the finished product the best we both think it can be. And I think we’ve done a pretty good job. 🙂

If you’ve missed any of these recent guest posts, I encourage you to check them out, and if you do find them interesting, please visit the author’s site.

Be a Flying Beauty with These Airplane Beauty Tips

Is Milk of Magnesia a Cure for Oily Skin?

Where to Buy Asian Beauty Brands

Have You Haired About Coconut Oil?

How to Apply Liquid Foundation

MASS. to Melbourne: Beauty Down Unda’

The 3-Step OmbrÃ© Lip

MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Invisible Cover Foundation

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Massachusetts to Melbourne: Beauty Down Unda’

September 5th, 2011 by Karen 18 Comments

Written by Nicole

What does an American beauty addict do when she finds herself living a world away from her favorite products and familiar haunts? Why, she learns the lay of the land, of course, and discovers a world of new beauty possibilities.

Melbourne, Australia
Photo remixed from an original by Teknorat

Late last year my husband and I became American expats living abroad when we made the move to Australia from the U.S. for his new job. I knew about our big journey months in advance, so I did the best I could to prepare and studied anything and everything I could about the land down unda’ before we arrived; however, I made two fatal mistakes.

First, I never fully realized just how expensive things would be down here, and second, I was unprepared for how long I’d have to wait for makeup collections to make their big debuts here after being released in the States.

As a woman of substance, I have my needs. Among them: facial moisturizer, hair products (loads of ’em), perfume, nail polish, and anything pertaining to MAC, Benefit, Clinique and Philosophy. Not long after moving, I was already hitting the bottom of my assorted elixirs and potions, wondering what I was going to do.

I realized that I could either A.) Skype my mom and ask her to send a care package my way, or B.) venture out into the city of Melbourne to find more permanent beauty solutions. Gone were the days of Cheese-Itz and Dunks’, so I figured it was also time to broaden my horizons and revamp my beauty artillery.

The first thing to go was my coveted container of Origins GinZing Eye Cream; I needed to find something just as good at combating my puffy under-eye circles. In the States, the cream sells for $29.50 USD, but here it sells for a whopping $64.00 AUS! With the US dollar on par with the Australian dollar, I just couldn’t justify paying more than double for the same thing.

I searched high and low for hours in Mecca Cosmetica (heaven), The Body Shop, L’Occitane and several other local pharmacies and department stores. During my quest, I kept happening upon a brand by the name of Jurlique, which I’d seen before in Sephora but never really gave much thought.

Jurlique

It’s a homegrown brand here in Australia, and the company prides itself on using organic ingredients. The price for a tube of Jurlique’s Herbal Recovery Eye Cream ($52.00 AUS/$40.00 US) wasn’t as bad as GinZing’s, and I also figured I should start using things I’d be able to find anywhere in Oz.

Arnica, the active ingredient used in Jurlique’s Herbal Recovery Eye Cream, claimed to fight my tired, puffy eyes, and I was up for the battle. I have to say, I’ve been happy with the results.

I’ve been using the cream since last November and like it just as much as GinZing. Both products contain the same amount of cream — 15ml — but the one from Jurlique has a much longer shelf life. We’re talking 24 months versus 6. You be the judge.

I, like Karen, have wavy hair that can go as mad as Medusa in mere seconds when exposed to humidity. I don’t even attempt to blow dry it when the forecast calls for more than 55% humidity; it’s just not worth the time or the arm strength.

My former hairdresser, Laura, knew the texture and wicked ways of my hair, so she introduced me to Moroccan Oil back in 2008. Not only did I fall in love with the scent, but I also fell in love with the fact that it kept my frizz in check on those really humid days. Alas, I ran out of the travel-size bottle I brought with me here and didn’t bring any spares, but equipped with the lessons learned from my previous adventure, I went out to my local hair supplier and plunked down $34.95 AUS for a 100ml bottle of One n’ Only’s Argan Oil.

Argan Oil
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Last Days of Summer: Drugstore Beauty to Ring in the Fall

September 4th, 2011 by Karen 8 Comments

Written by Sam

We’re on the cusp of fall, watching summer sail off toward the horizon, but the sun hasn’t abandoned us yet. With the help of these sunny weather drugstore stars, soak up the last few weeks of sunshine safely, and look great without breaking the bank.

Last Days of Summer: Drugstore Beauty

As summer fades into the ethereal fog and smoky incense of autumn, we still have a few weeks of warm weather left (hopefully!). Check out these fantastic, cheap drugstore finds that work a treat for sunbathing on the beach or strolling down city sidewalks under the midday sun.

1. Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock ($9.49 for a 3-oz. tube in SPF 55)

You’ve been hearing it for years, so I won’t belabor the point — wear your sunscreen (even when it’s overcast)! There, it’s as simple as that. But it’s understandable why you might not want to with so many bad sunscreens on the market. Most are thick, viscous, and greasy, leaving behind a slick, shiny film that neither feels nor looks good.

Not the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch line. These emollient, creamy lotions (they’re available in a range of SPFs) sink into skin almost immediately, providing ample moisture for all but the driest among us, without that oily residue previously synonymous with “sunscreen.” Its chemical sunscreen provides broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection, and because it’s a chemical — rather than a physical — sunscreen, you won’t have to worry about looking ghostly in flash photography (like those impromptu shots at the beach bar after dark).

2. Yes to Carrots Conditioning Lip Butter with SPF 15 Pomegranate ($3.47)

Hands down one of my favorite lip balms ever! Unlike many inexpensive lip balms, this one’s neither slick nor waxy. It’s exactly what I think of when I think of good balms. It leaves lips with a satin finish (looks good on both men and women) that lasts for about four hours on me if I don’t eat or drink heavily over that time.

It may not smell exactly like pomegranates, but the faint, unobstrusive berry scent fades quickly, while still making the product taste pretty appealing to me. Most importantly, it contains SPF 15 to keep your lips soft and smooth even after hours in the sun.

3. Neutrogena Wet Skin Sunblock Spray ($10.99 for a 5-oz. bottle in SPF 50)

Neutrogena has this whole sunscreen game down. This one’s for bodies and comes in an aerosol spray can. Just hold it about six inches away from the skin, and depress the tab. The super fine mist leaves a slight sheen on the skin that dries within minutes.

Keep the can moving in tight circles while applying to be sure you don’t miss a spot. You shouldn’t have to retrace your steps or worry about getting sand on your hands (LOVE those accidental exfoliating sand rubs).

And when it comes to reapplying after a couple of hours in the sun or surf, Wet Skin Sunblock makes it a cinch, even while swimming, as it cuts through water and still applies evenly on wet skin. You won’t even have to dry off completely after hopping out of the water to reapply.
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8 Products for Beach-Proof Beauty

August 20th, 2011 by Karen 9 Comments

Written by Sam

Makeup at the beach? Sure, sometimes — especially with some of these goodies recommended by makeup artist and blogger Sam in your beach bag.

8 Products for Beach-Proof Beauty

The beach can be a place to let down your hair and bare it all, a place to skip the makeup and step out with a nude face (and lots of sunscreen). But the beach can also be a hot spot for fashion gurus and socialites, especially after dusk or by beach side restaurants and bars, where wearing makeup is still the norm.

If you’re wearing makeup to one of those beaches, then you know how harsh a mistress the beach can be when it comes to messin’ with your makeup and hair.

At beaches where the men are sporting mid-thigh shorts and leather sandals designed to transition from the surf to the veranda at the resort’s beach side bar, and the women are wearing makeup — not much, mind you, and nothing outrageous — and jewelry that isn’t made from shells or stones peeks out from their designer bikini tops, you might want a few of these beach approved beauty products in your bag.

Wind, water, and sun can quickly cause a beauty catastrophe, but a bag stocked with some of these eight items will keep you looking fresh-faced and fine until it’s time to pack up the cooler and put away the beach towels.

1. Face Atelier Foundation ($45)

This foundation has a silicone base, helping it hold up even when exposed to water (just make sure not to rub!). The finish is satiny smooth, and gives skin a faint but healthy glow, while still allowing its natural texture to shine through. With Face Atelier Foundation, it barely even looks like you’re wearing anything at all — perfect for places where you don’t want to look too made up. MORE >>

2. MUFE Aqua Eyes Cream Liner ($20)

These gel/cream eyeliners are easy to apply quickly. They don’t tug at the skin, and won’t steal time away from your fun in the sun. They simply refuse to budge without a dedicated waterproof makeup remover, meaning that you can swim till your heart’s content without ever having to worry about rivulets of color running down your cheeks. MORE >>

3. MUFE Full Cover ($30)

Another silicone wonder, this concealer can hide even the darkest of under-eye circles or the most egregious of blemishes, all while remaining water- and sweat-proof. Depending on the condition of your skin, you might be able to skip your foundation and just dab a bit of this wherever you need some extra coverage and confidence. With Full Cover, you’re good to go for 24 hours, at least. MORE >>

4. Tarte Matte Waterproof Bronzer ($29)

This orange-free bronzer delivers a healthy wash of color perfect for those who prefer not to spend very much time in the sun. Salt water won’t bother it, either, as it stays exactly where it’s put, without running, fading, or oxidizing. Buff it onto the high points of your face for a sun-kissed glow…without the sun. MORE >>
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