Guest Post

I Hung Out With James Vincent and All I Got Was This Brush Set*

April 26th, 2016 by Nicole Fraser-Herron 29 Comments

James Vincent x LBC — James Vincent x London Brush Company

I was oohing and ahhing over pots of glitter when I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around to see James Vincent smiling at me saying, “Hi, Nicole.”

A mutual friend introduced us. I have long since admired James Vincent, but meeting him in person, artist to artist, was so wonderful. I met him at The Makeup Show in San Francisco last year. If you aren’t familiar with The Makeup Show, it’s a pro-focused beauty convention that travels the US every year. Bigger brands and smaller local brands attend, and you can find tons of goodies at a pro rate. They also have classes! I could listen to James Vincent teach for hooooours. And I did.

When I met him, he told me about this brush collection from the London Brush Company (it looks like they’re sold out as of right now), and I obviously needed it. The brushes are vegan Mongoose hair, and very simple in design with only James Vincent and London Brush Company on the ferrule. They’re very soft, and very versatile.

Let’s break it down: there are 3 pyramid brushes and two bent ones.

The biggest pyramid brush works for so many base products. That’s something I LOVE about LBC — the multitude of uses a single brush is made to have. I’ve used this brush for moisturizer, primer, foundation, setting powder, and contour. It’s bloody brilliant. The fine point makes it easy to get in there and contour precisely and the pyramid angle helps blend it out. It applies powder so easily with not too much product (I’ve been using it with the Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder and the Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder).

The next two pyramid brushes I’ve been using mostly as eye brushes, but also for contouring my nose (which I don’t do often, but it helps in photos and when I’m hanging out with drag queens and feel under…painted). Again, this pyramid thing is bloody brilliant. Apply with the tip, blend with the edges. It also makes crease work so damn easy because the flat part of the triangle sort of blocks pigment from blending down onto your mobile lid. Brilliant I tell you.

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When Doing Your Makeup, Do You Reach More Often for Cream or Powder Formulas?

April 26th, 2016 by Carolina Braina 23 Comments

Hmm… If you’d asked me a few months ago, I would have definitely replied “powder”. You know, as someone with oily skin, for years I thought that using powder products for my base was the right thing to do. God knows how many pans of Shiseido Pureness foundation I went through in my late teens and early twenties…

Then I moved on to liquid foundations and never really looked back. I still kept using mainly powder bronzers and blushes, though, more out of habit than anything else. But over the last few weeks, I’ve been obsessed with achieving the most natural-looking base as possible, one that would be undetectable on the skin even when using a magnifying mirror.

Well, I’m happy to report that I’ve found the perfect product combination for that, and they’re all cream or liquid formulas.

Primer: Since these days I only powder the areas I conceal, I find that using a mattifying primer helps my foundation stay put longer, so the Make Up For Ever Step1 Skin Equalizer Mattifying Primer has earned itself a premium spot in my everyday makeup bag.

Foundation: My most recent base product crush is the La Roche-Posay Effaclar BB Blur. You may read all about it here, but basically it’s a silicone-based BB mousse that is AMAZING at minimizing pores and fine lines while blurring the look of imperfections. AND it doesn’t require powdering.

Bronzer: My favorite bronzer at the moment is yet another blurring product, and it comes in the form of the YSL Les Sahariennes Sun-Kissed Blur Perfector. It’s a balm-to-powder formula that melts into the skin and makes you look like you’re glowing from within. I apply it all over my face and neck, focusing on the areas that tan first, and it gives me the most subtle, natural-looking radiance. I just can’t get enough of it!

Blush: The Chanel Le Blush Crème de Chanel is my all-time favorite cream blush formula, but sadly it seems to have been discontinued. The shade I’ve used today is Affinité, a beautiful cool-toned pink with a satin finish that lasts way longer on my oily skin than any powder blush I’ve ever tried.

Highlighter: As a finishing touch, I like to dab a couple of drops of the Revlon Photoready Skinlights in 100 Bare Light on my cheekbones. Again, the result is pretty subtle, but in real life you can definitely see a juicy sheen whenever the light hits the area.

Cream Makeup Products — In case you’re wondering, the lipstick I’m wearing today is MAC Fusion Pink

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The Incredible NARS Under Cover Summer 2016 Collection Dual-Intensity Eyeshadows!

April 25th, 2016 by Adia Goss 25 Comments

nars under cover dual intensity eyeshadows — I’m still in love with the packaging…

Have you seen the four new Dual-Intensity Eyeshadows in the NARS Under Cover Summer 2016 Collection yet? They are incredible! I REALLY love the finish, because the shimmer is so soft, and they’re so crazy pigmented, that the fact that they’re also versatile and can be worn wet or dry is icing on the cake. You can use a fluffy brush to get just a wash of color, or you can dampen your brush and layer the colors to get more intensity.

Starting with Topless, a light seashell pink — I’m glad NARS included it, because it balances nicely with the bolder colors in the collection.

As for rich neutral brown Tan Lines, it’s neither too warm nor bronzey, but it doesn’t turn gray either, so I think it’s a great eyeshadow color, especially if you’re looking for a rich brown. The shimmer keeps it from being too plain.

And then there’s shimmering teal green Deep End — gorgeous! It reminds me of the waters off a tropical island! I mean, it’s not a color that I tend to wear…but it’s so beautiful.

Lastly, Pool Shark. It’s an iridescent blue with lots of purple shimmer, and it looks mostly blue in the pan, but as you can see in the pictures below, there’s also a lot of purple in it. It’s a really unique color, and I think you can get it to look more blue or purple, depending on how you wear it. I love colors like this because they always look a little different when you wear them!

Here’s a closer look at these stunning eyeshadows:

NARS under cover collection dual-intensity eyeshadows — Swatches of the Summer 2016 Under Cover NARS Dual-Intensity Eyeshadows (L to R): Topless, Tan Lines, Deep End and Pool Shark (taken with flash)

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First Impressions of the Cheap and Chic H&M Beauty Line

April 25th, 2016 by Anna Oh 10 Comments

h&m beauty

h&m beauty face

With tons of luxury fashion brands already in the beauty market, H&M is mixing it up with their own huge and affordable makeup line — H&M Beauty. It’s available online and in certain stores, but shopping at H&M is like a retail black hole… What did I come here looking for?? When did it get so dark outside?? The Beauty Line is no different. There are hundreds of products to look through! Luckily enough, I have an eyeshadow palette, blush, and lipstick to try out and share for you.

hm aubergine dream eyeshadow palette — H&M Aubergine Dream Eyeshadow Palette ($9.99)

hm rambling rose lipstick — H&M Cream Lipstick in Rambling Rose ($9.99)

hm golden peach blush — H&M Pressed Powder Blush in Golden Peach ($9.99)

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The NARS Under Cover Summer 2016 Collection Dual-Intensity Blushes

April 22nd, 2016 by Adia Goss 26 Comments

NARS Under Cover Summer 2016 Collection Blushes — This packaging makes me so happy!

As part of the NARS Summer 2016 Under Cover collection, NARS released two Dual-Intensity Blushes — Sexual Content and Liberation ($45 each) — and they are, in a word, gorgeous! I love how NARS collections are always wearable but never boring.

The NARS Dual-Intensity Blushes have a very pigmented, soft formula that can be used wet or dry. When used dry, they’re softly luminous, but if you use them with a dampened brush, the shine is more intense.

These two blush duos are incredibly versatile and would work for a wide range of skin tones, and I love that both of the colors in each duo can work layered or alone.

NARS under cover blushes — NARS Dual Intensity Blushes in Liberation (L) and Sexual Content (R)

Sexual Content has a soft peach on the left and a medium pink on the right, and both shades are so pretty! I think the left color would be a great everyday blush for lighter skin tones and a nice sheen/highlighter for darker skin tones. The color on the right is even more universal. The swatches below are with a heavy hand so that you can really see the color, but these can just as easily be applied lightly for a wash of shimmery color.

Liberation has a cool-toned baby pink on the left and a warm rosy/terracota shade on the right. I think the shade on the right is very unique and gives a lovely natural flush. On lighter skin tones, it may also work as a bronzer. Either way, both shades are super pretty and wearable.

nars under cover blush — NARS Liberation Dual-Intensity Blush

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NARS Finally Makes Liquid Lipsticks…and Nails It!! Introducing the NARS Lip Covers From the Under Cover Summer 2016 Collection

April 22nd, 2016 by Adia Goss 39 Comments

NARS under cover collection — How gorgeous is the packaging for the NARS Under Cover summer 2016 collection?

I am about the new NARS Under Cover summer 2016 collection and the brand’s first foray into the liquid lipstick market.

Their new Lip Covers are incredible! They’re vibrant and long-lasting like a liquid lipstick, but with none of the dryness and discomfort, so basically exactly what you’d expect from NARS.

I have to admit that I am totally biased when it comes to NARS (here’s another post with my favorite NARS products), but even so, I really do feel these are awesome.

The Under Cover summer 2016 collection includes four of these new Lip Covers, four Dual Intensity Eye Shadows (I LOVE this formula!) and two Dual Intensity Blushes. This post is all about the Lip Covers, but stay tuned for reviews of everything else. For now, I’ll just say that the whole collection is gorgeous. If anything looks irresistably interesting, snatch it up! The collection is limited edition, and the products are available now at the NARS website (and coming soon to other retailers).

So, the Lip Covers — Do Not Disturb, Get Dirty, Members Only and Overheated — I really like this formula, and I hope they add more colors in the future (fingers crossed!).

I think the shades NARS chose to release with the collection are pretty interesting. There are two nude shades (Get Dirty and Overheated) and two red shades (Do Not Disturb and Members Only).

On the one hand, I appreciate that they’re giving us two variations on each color family, especially since it’s so hard to find a good nude, but on the other hand, I want even more variety, because the formula is that great.

Here are swatches of the Lip Covers, and I did these with a heavier hand so that you could see the texture and finish.

They look glossy in the pics, but once they dry down on your lips (which takes just a couple minutes), the finish looks more satin than glossy.

NARS Under Cover — Swatches of the NARS Lip Covers (L to R) in Do Not Disturb, Get Dirty, Members Only and Overheated

And here’s another shot with different lighting:

I think orangey red Do Not Disturb looks very similar to Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid Lipstick in Orange Shot (which I reviewed a couple weeks ago).

Wearing Do Not Disturb from the NARS Under Cover collection. — Wearing NARS Do Not Disturb from the NARS Under Cover summer 2016 collection

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Maybelline Baby Lips Dr. Rescue Medicated Balm

April 22nd, 2016 by Jessica Revitte 22 Comments

The long-running Unsung Heroes series here on Makeup and Beauty Blog features some of our all-time favorite permanent collection products.

I’ve got dry lips.

Like, Sonoran Desert dry.

Many have tried to figure out why, I assure you, and many have failed. Between the overall dryness of my skin, to its tendency to eczema and how my lips aggravatingly seem to need to really get in the mood for our six-month winter here in the arctic tundra that is Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, my lips are wrinkled and peeling for way more of the year than I’d like.

I’ve gone through favorite lip balms like Taylor Swift goes through boyfriends. (Too soon? Sorry, T, just shake it off.)

I repeatedly feel like I’ve found “the one” and love it for weeks — months, even — and go through a whole slew of backups only to see my lips eventually reject the formula seemingly out of the freaking blue. It drives me nuts. What I don’t do is write songs about it… Maybe Taylor can help me with that?

Anyway, when Maybelline released their main Baby Lips line a few years ago, I tried one of the original tinted formulation balms and wasn’t that impressed. It looked great, but because of my lips, it felt like the balm itself was just sitting on top of my dry lips, rather than sinking in and really making a difference.

So I gave them a pass until I noticed a new product in the Baby Lips fam called Baby Lips Dr. Rescue, which I spotted while ~~getting some much needed “mommy alone time”~~ running errands. I grabbed the clear balm and applied it immediately in the car.

*queue angels singing*

It felt INCREDIBLE.

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The 5 Lip Liners You Need in Your Makeup Stash

April 21st, 2016 by Adia Goss 18 Comments

To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of lip liners… I don’t use them on most days because it feels like an unnecessary step, but that being said, there are a few shades that I DO wear every so often and think are absolute necessities.

Here are my five favorite must-have lip liners. What are yours?

MAC Boldly Bare. I think everyone should have a peachy-nude lip liner. We all know that nude lipstick can be tough to pull off sometimes, so having a liner that can be a nice base, or help shape the lips, is major. I like Boldly Bare because it warms up nudes that are too cool (avoiding the dreaded dead lips look). Plus, it looks really good under a sheer gloss. It’s available at MAC Cosmeticsfor $16.50 .
NYX Chocolate. This Chocolate shade is very close to my natural lip color, so I like to wear it under more pigmented glosses to make them last longer. It also works under darker lipsticks when I want to make sure the outline of my lips is neat and clean, and it’s only $3.50 at Ulta!
MAC Cork. This is like in the brown skin girl’s makeup hall of fame! I swear, every MAC makeup artist has tried to sell this to me (and I’ve caved and bought it more than once!). But, it’s popular because it just works. A darker brown liner, it’s perfect for deepening other lip colors without drastically changing their hue. It’s also perfect for the ’90s brown lip trend! It’s available at MAC Cosmetics for $16.50.
MAC Lasting Sensation. This is sort of a wildcard because it’s a bright coral color, but I actually love it as a matte lipstick. Since it’s a lip pencil, it’s easier to get a neat and precise application. And I love that it lasts all day. It’s def a summer staple for me (I featured it in my Beach Inspired Makeup Post). It’s also available at MAC Cosmetics for $16.50 .
Boots No. 7 Precision Lip Pencil in Red. Red lips are gorgeous, but for me they’re kind of tricky. I almost always use a red lip liner when I’m wearing red lipstick because it helps keep the lipstick on my lips and not all over my face. Bonus points for this being a twist-up pencil that doesn’t need a sharpener (because I can NEVER find one when I need it). You can find it at Target for $9. And for help finding something to wear it with, here are my favorite red lipsticks.

* Honorable Mention: MAC Nightmoth. Just like with red lipstick, deep vampy colors are high maintenance. This is my go-to for when I want dark and dramatic lips. Another MAC classic.

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