Autumn/Fall Must-Have Makeup Products/Trends

Sunday, September 11th, 2011

Autumn Must-Have Makeup

As summer winds down and the temperatures begin to decline, autumn enters, along with a shift in must-have makeup products (or trends, since I didn’t make specific recommendations).  Here are my three for this fall:

The Dark Lip is a fall trend that never gets old and never goes out of style. It must be the cooler temps that make us reach for those cooler, darker berries and plums–and for those of us who are more daring, our truly vampy shades. There are two essential tricks to wearing and pulling off a darker lip: confidence and technique.

You gotta have the confidence to rock the bold lip–this means throwing out any preconceived notions you have of how you look in a dark lip. We get stuck seeing ourselves in a certain way, but trust me, others see us in less of a box! You look killer in your crushed berry lip stain! (And if you need to build-up your confidence level, wear it around the house and good friends.) Secondly, technique is important; you want to take your time and apply a darker lip color with a lip brush when possible, and lining around the lip (with a colorless lip liner or concealer) and on the edge of lip will give you a very crisp, precise lip look as well as longer-lasting color that’s less prone to bleeding. Keep in mind that adding gloss on top of a dark lipstick often increases the chance it will bleed.

The Plum Blush adds color but also definition to cheeks–and it’s an interesting way to switch-up your usual makeup routine. It’s also nice way to embrace some of the more somber tones of autumn that we see so often on lips but on the cheeks. On cooler complexions, I love pinkish plums, while on warmer complexions, brownish plums work well. It can be applied heavily or softly, depending on your preference, and softer, finer textures allow for a really blendable, sheered out looks, while denser products will yield greater intensity in a single pass.

The Matte Lip is back with a vengeance this fall, but we’ll be seeing different twists and takes on what exactly matte means. They’re just not your old school dry-as-a-bone kind of mattes any more. Thank goodness for the improvements in formulas, ingredients, and technology, because we can now achieve matte lips without chalkiness, dryness, or excessive pulling and tugging. Keep your eyes open for some of those new formulas launching in the next month or so!

What are your must-have products for autumn?

Back-to-School Makeup: Quick Looks

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

Back-to-School Quickies

The alarm went off… a half hour ago.  You only have five to ten minutes before you have to head out the door–these are my favorite ways to look and feel good when time is short!

• Neutral + Dark Crease: Pop a flesh-toned neutral all over the lid and add pop and oomph with a much darker crease. On warmer complexions, an eggplant purple adds definition and color without being over-the-top. On cooler complexions, navy and charcoal blues work well.
• Bright Eyeliner: Whether you line the lower or upper lash lines (or both!), using a brightly colored eyeliner can give you a really fun look without a lot of work!
• Find Your Duo: One of my favorite eyeshadow duos is Hourglass’ Gypsy–it just works well for me–and I reach for it regularly when I’m in need of some color on the lid but don’t have a lot of time to think about what I want to do. Whether it’s neutral or not, totally up to you, but finding a duo, trio, or palette with a never-fails combination is essential for those mornings you wake up late!
• Bold Lips: Don’t be afraid of bold lip colors! Especially as we head into fall (officially, at least!), darker lip colors are always in style. You can add an instant brightness to your face by using a bolder, darker lip color. Plus, darker lip colors tend to last longer on lips, which means less reapplying.
• “No Makeup” Makeup: Classic, polished, and easy to do once you figure out what products you love most for the look. Ideally, you want to add depth and brightness to the eyes as well as defined lashes; soft glow and natural color to cheeks; smooth, “flawless” skin; and your my-lips-but-better lipstick/lipgloss–look out for plums, mauves, and plummy-pinks.

What’s your go-to look when you only have a few minutes?

Money-Saving Tips for College Students

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

More Money for Beauty with These Money-Saving Tips!

A college student’s budget for their favorite beauty products can be a difficult animal to wrangle, especially for incoming college students, so I thought I’d offer up some of my personal tips and tricks on budgeting with a beauty enthusiast’s desires in mind–save money…. so you can have a bigger beauty budget

DON’T LET TEXTBOOKS WIN.

There is probably no bigger drain on the budget than the outlandish costs of textbooks. This goes for all levels of post-secondary education (I paid $250 for a b-school textbook a year or two back–are you serious?). When and wherever possible, obtain books outside of your school’s bookstore and try to get them gently used. I’m totally with anyone who can’t handle a book owned by voracious highlighter, so I always kept an eye out in the used book’s description about it. You’d be surprised that you can find gems that were virtually untouched (and probably read minimally by that darling A+ student who already knew it all) for anywhere from 20-80% off the list price. I loved Amazon, personally, both for buying and reselling textbooks.

It’s a good idea to start off with a textbook price comparison site (like bigwords.com), and then go from there. Check out what sites offer free shipping, see where they’re located (e.g. if you’re buying a week before class, you might not want to buy from somewhere across the coast–unless you’re paying for quicker shipping). Then check out coupon sites for any existing coupons (free shipping, 5% off, etc.). If you want the best deals, make sure you start hunting earlier rather than later. The market for used books is like anything else; you’re not the only one hunting for a good deal. Plus, you want to give yourself enough time receive the book.

If you can’t find it used, do price comparison shopping at major retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. My mom always had a BN membership, so I frequently bought new books there that I couldn’t find cheaper used (often English novels and the like), but just as often, I bought off of Amazon. (And if you’re a student, consider the Amazon Student program where you essentially get Amazon Prime benefits–free two-day shipping–for six months at no cost.) Free two-day shipping (and just $3.99 for overnight) has saved my butt SO many times when I’m down to the wire and class has already started!

More tips:

• Ask friends who have taken the class previously for their books (you might even offer to pay or take them out for lunch/dinner).
• Ask the professor if you can use a previous edition of a book (90% of the time, it’s totally OK) – if you don’t want to ask, look to see what the time lapse between editions was; the larger the gap, the more likely they made more revisions–but if they put out a new edition every 9 months, you could probably get away with the old edition.
• Rent your textbook! This was only just bubbling up when I had gone through most of my classes, so I can’t weigh in, but it might be a viable option!

MAKE TEXTBOOKS WORK FOR YOU.

When class has wrapped up, be quick about reselling your textbooks! I can’t emphasize this enough, because it’s something I very often failed to do. Whether you bring a box to your school’s bookstore or you sell them yourself (I always used Amazon), do it right away. Editions change frequently, so you don’t want to get too behind. I have some law school textbooks that were $200+ when I purchased them but are worth $20 now. When shipping out books, use media mail if possible, and if you use USPS, try to cram that book into a flat rate box if you can’t use media mail. If your book wasn’t worth much to begin with or it’s not worth much now, factor in costs to ship and whether it’s worth it.

EAT OUT LESS. OR AT LEAST SAVE ON DRINKS.

Unless you’re scarfing down fast food everyday, eating out is generally more expensive than cooking something for yourself or using the dormitory food plan if you’re on campus. We would always grab fruit, muffins, etc. to take with us, too (my school let you take one item plus one drink cup out) for in-between class snacks. If you want to eat out, use sites like restaurant.com, which offer big discounts on dining out. If you live in a pretty populated area, you can luck out for some good restaurants at a fraction of the cost–but make sure to read all the fine print about minimums. The cost of buying drinks during a meal add up, and this is a big money maker for restaurants. I’m not in school any more, but we cut out drinks (and stick with water) years ago except for the rare occasion. $3 for lemonade or soda can add up!

More tips:

• Find out if your school has any partnerships in place with local restaurants.
• Look for reward cards–like Pinkberry has a stamp card, Starbucks comps extras like soy milk if you use a reloadable card, etc.
• Happy hour doesn’t have to mean just drinks; a lot of restaurants do half-off appetizers.

PLAN YOUR SHOPPING SPREES.

Whether it’s for clothes, shoes, or beauty, watch for big sales. For clothing/shoes, these are much more frequent, and I always liked to partake in back-to-school sales the most. If you love a particular store or brand, get on their email list so you can find out about upcoming sales before they happen. When it comes to beauty, sales are less frequent, but one that most of us anticipate is Sephora’s Friends & Family sale in November. This is an excellent time to stockup on your staples; your moisturizers, concealers, primers, foundations, etc.

DON’T LET CREDIT CARDS ABUSE YOU.

This will save you money (and stress) in the long-run, but a motto I like to live by is to live within my means, so I don’t get to use a credit card and rack up charges that I can’t pay for out of my bank account.  Be fiscally responsible and think of credit cards as being convenient, but they’re not there so you can just borrow money like it’s water.  They’re good for emergencies, when you’re in-between paychecks, or when you can find a good financing deal (like paying for your laptop in 12 monthly installments with no interest–but just make sure you are on top of those payments so you don’t incur past interest charges if you don’t pay in full by the end of the financing deal date).  I had a friend in college who managed to get herself into $20,000 credit debt, and after hearing about that, it’s not something you want to get yourself into.  For most, the interest rates in credit cards is ridiculous, so please take care and don’t buy a $3,000 purse you know you can’t afford.  Credit cards are no doubt tantalizing, but don’t let them abuse you!  Besides, aren’t the student loans daunting enough?

Do you have any money-saving tips for our students?

Back-to-School Must-Have Makeup

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

Back-to-School Must-Have Makeup

Heading back to class? Here are my recommendations for products to keep tucked in a makeup bag with you during the day or stashed together to make that early morning routine a little more streamlined! I also tried to keep my recommendations with a student’s budget in mind!

1. Wet ‘n’ Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trios ($2.99) are extremely affordable but still pack a good punch of color and offer plenty of options from bold to neutral. They wear best over an eyeshadow primer, but if you’re spending eight hours at school, you’ll probably want to opt for an eyeshadow primer anyway!  The price point is so palatable, it’s feasible to keep your favorite (or a go-to trio) at home and in your bag.
2. MAC Blot Powder ($23.00) will help minimize shine and oiliness throughout the day. It’ll mattify your face, giving the illusion of a fresher face, even if it took just fifteen seconds. If you’re on a tighter budget, you could also try Neutrogena Healthy Skin Oil Control Powder ($10.23), which should work well, but I like the inclusion of a mirror and more robust packaging of MAC’s when it comes to a makeup bag staple. If you have very dry skin, this is a product you could skip.
3. Makeup Remover Wipes are nice to have on hand in case of any makeup mishaps or post-gym sessions. There are a ton of brands that make them. My advice is to find a brand that offers both bulk as well as travel-sized options–buy in bulk and then re-fill the travel size to keep with you. You can also store a couple of them in a zippered plastic bag. Keep a lookout for trial sizes of eye makeup removers and take along cotton swabs (kept in a plastic bag, so they don’t get dirty). It’s a little less convenient, but on the upside, it can be a more precise way to fix mistakes.
4. Jack Black Lip Balm ($7.50) is something I can’t recommend enough. It’s not cheap compared to a lot of lip balm options, but it’s so much more effective than the many other balms and sticks I’ve tried over the years. I have at least five in my bathroom cabinet right now and always have one at my desk, pocket, night stand, and purse!
5. Milani Liquif’Eye Eyeliner ($6.49) is one of my favorites for budget-friendly eyeliners. I like to keep a black or brown one for longer days, in case the lower lash line needs a touch-up. It’s also a good way to add more definition if you went makeup-free that day and have an impromptu afterschool event. You might also consider a tube of your favorite mascara!
6. Your Favorite Lipstick/Lipgloss so you can reapply as necessary. I like to keep a go-to gloss in my bag (for me, it’s Cle de Peau #2, which is not a recommendation for this post–it’s just my favorite), but I’ll often start off with a different lipstick (or even lipstick + lipgloss combination).

What are your recommendations for back-to-school must-haves?

Skincare Tips: Cleanser Dos & Don’ts

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

This post was written by Renée Rouleau, who is a skin-care expert and celebrity esthetician who has been helping men, women and teens attain healthy, glowing, beautiful skin for more than twenty years.

Her philosophy is simple: With the proper tools, effective products and a disciplined approach, anyone can have great skin.  Her skincare line embodies this same approach and follows her dos and don’ts.  In relation to this post, I fully recommend her AHA/BHA Cleansing Gel!

She provides regular skincare advice and tips on her blog, too!

Cleanser Dos and Don’ts by Skin Care Expert, Renée Rouleau

Cleansers all have generally the same basic function, which is to clean dirt, debris, oil, bacteria and makeup from the skin. But, there are definitely some things you need to know when it comes to choosing the right cleanser and using it correctly.

Do choose a cleanser made exclusively for your skin type

It’s difficult for me to understand how skin care companies are able to say that their cleansers are “suitable for all skin types.” All skin is different and therefore, each individual has very unique needs when it comes to skin care products. Because a cleanser is a staple in a day and evening skin care routine, it’s essential that you’re using one for your skin type.

When talking to your skin care professional or whomever you purchase your products from, don’t say “Is this product good for me?” because chances are a salesperson will more than likely tell you yes. Instead, say “What type of skin does this product work best for?” With a specific question like that, you’re sure to get a specific answer that will help you decide if the product is right for your skin needs. When a cleanser is not a good fit, your skin will let you know. For healthy skin, never work against Mother Nature, always work with her.

Check out more tips!  Share your dos & don’ts in the comments!  Continue reading →

IMATS Pasadena 2011 – A Few Tips

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

IMATS Pasadena 2009

IMATS Pasadena 2011

My Must-Haves & Tips

Twitter Tips