Makeup Tips/How To

5 Ways to S t r e t c h Your Beauty Dollars

July 5th, 2010 by Karen 24 Comments

Written by !i$@ bee

To help gals get more bang for their bucks, blogger !i$@ bee shares 5 ways to s t r e t c h those beauty dollars.

5 ways to stretch your beauty dollars

Hey there, lovelies! I know many of you are curious as to how far you can make your precious, hard-earned money go when it comes to makeup. Too many times I’ve seen friends drop money on a product they could probably duplicate with something they already have in their current makeup stash. Well, fret no more, because !i$@ bee is here to drop some knowledge on ya.

1. Double and triple duty products

I never understood why someone would buy two products — say, a brow filler and a brow-colored eyeshadow — when one might do. Not only can you use eyeshadows as brow fillers and eyeliners (if you wet them first and apply with an eyeliner brush), you can also use your lipsticks as blushes and your blushes as eyeshadows. It may not work with all formulas, so check ingredients and packaging instructions first, but where it does work it can save a lot.

2. Palettes

Palettes are a great way to not only store your makeup, but also to experiment with multiple eye colors for a fraction of the cost of buying products separately. There was a MAC shadow I’d been eyeing (no pun intended), but I wasn’t sure if the color would complement my skin tone, so I headed to my nearest discount beauty store, where they offered a similar color and seven others (!!!) in palette form. Not only was I able to test-drive the color I wanted, I was also able to experiment with some new looks thanks to the additional shades. All for less than the price of a single MAC shadow I may or may not have liked. Sweet!

3. Eyeshadow base

As a relative noob to this whole makeup thing, I didn’t have a collection of eyeshadow bases to keep my shadow in place during the day. In a pinch, I’d just use concealer as a base and continue on with my shadow application. Since then, I’ve discovered the wonders of a proper base, specifically NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils. These really make my shadow colors pop and wear longer, and depending on the base + shadow combo, allow me to create some new colors.

Another great thing about NYX Pencils: the price. You can find them online or sometimes in beauty stores for $5 or less. Not bad for such a versatile product!
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Benefit Scene Queen: A Tuesday Smokey Eye Tutorial

June 29th, 2010 by Karen 42 Comments

benefit scene queen tutorial

Brace yourself, young lady, because someone’s about to make a scene — and it’s you! Do you remember last week’s grayish blue smokey eye from our look at the Benefit Scene Queen The Annie Collection palette? Here’s a quick breakdown of it with pictures and a how-to. 🙂

The Benefit Scene Queen palette

When would I rock a look like this? Well, often! — specifically, whenever I’d want to look dressed up but not overdone, day or night. If it feels a little too dramatic for daytime wear to work/school, maybe give it a try out one night with friends or your boo.
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5 Makeup and Beauty Lessons I Learned from Watching True Blood

June 23rd, 2010 by Karen 75 Comments

In HBO’s True Blood, the vampires have come out of the proverbial closet. In the show, which centers around the mortal and immortal residents of a town called Bon Temps, Louisiana, the generally law-abiding humans, vamps and other preternatural citizens live alongside each other, doing their best to abide by their natures while following the rules of Southern decorum.

Of course, drama ensues, and that’s what makes the show so fun to watch!

Lafayette Reynolds, the flamboyant cook/road crew worker/man of several questionable illegal pursuits, is one of my favorite residents of Bon Temps. How many guys can work lace and rhinestones and still look tough at the same time? Not many, I contend!

A sage of unique style, Lafayette has taught me so very many timeless makeup and beauty lessons like…

1. When in doubt, rock the cat eye

Dressed up or dressed down, they’re an unmistakably classic look.

2. Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize!

If you plan to show some skin (and sometimes you just gotta!), accentuate the positives with accessories, like this stylish cap and matching blinged-out belt buckle.

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What Perfume Should I Wear with My Makeup? A Guide to Scent Pairings for Different Makeup Looks

June 17th, 2010 by Karen 46 Comments

Written by Ari

Today Ari of Scents of Self shares some potential perfume pairings for popular makeup looks.

Well, look at you, Miss Thang. Whether you’re working a smoky eye or rocking a red lip, your fine self is looking flawless (thanks to Karen’s incredible makeup tips). All that remains is a few spritzes of a fabulous perfume. Now, this perfume must do more than simply smell good. A great perfume should be the finishing touch to your look, creating an aura that matches your makeup. It should add to your sex appeal when you’re looking slinkier than Halle Berry, or create a sense of romance when you’re having an ultra-feminine, Keira-Knightley-in-her-latest-period-piece moment. Here are a few suggestions for perfumes that lend themselves to a particular makeup style; please feel free to mix and match.

Smoky Eyes

Your kohl-rimmed eyes already whisper, “Come hither”. Now take your game to the next level with a sexy scent that says, “Hey, Angelina Jolie, this isn’t amateur hour.”

Bvlgari Black ($74). Speaking of Ms. Jolie, this is rumored to be her signature scent. With notes of leather, musk, black tea, and vanilla, Black is what a dominatrix would wear to a very grown-up tea party.
Dior Hypnotic Poison ($68). From the name to the deep red bottle to the sultry blend of jasmine, vanilla, and musk, Hypnotic Poison was designed to hypnotize, Biggie-style.
Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur ($140). Spicy, ambery perfection. Musc Ravageur achieves what so many men do not: comes on strong, but turns cuddly by the end of the night.

Red Lips and Liner

Photo by Weglet

Red lips and a flick of liquid liner recall the glamorous stars of 1940’s Old Hollywood. Classic perfumes of the same era will complement your vintage vibe.

Chanel No. 5 ($60). Golden, powdery goodness. A beautiful classic worthy of its 90-year legacy. If it was good enough for Marilyn, it’s good enough for you.
Guerlain Shalimar ($56). A smoky vanilla created in 1925, Shalimar is perfect for those who love sweet scents but want something a little more sophisticated than Pink Sugar.
Frederic Malle Lipstick Rose, $130. If your look is more inspired by Katy Perry and Dita Von Teese than Old Hollywood, you might enjoy this more modern blend of rose and violet. Lipstick Rose smells just like a Chanel lipstick, and feels retro in a gorgeously kitschy way.

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I Look and Sea the Ocean: A Blue, Teal and Golden Eye

June 15th, 2010 by Karen 34 Comments

Written by Makeup Morsels

Today the makeup maven behind Makeup Morsels blog shares a bright and summery eye look inspired by the beach.

Hey, guys!

Lately I’ve been loving nautical themes, and I suspect it has to do with summer. My brain’s on a sunny beach somewhere far away, and its gentle waves have shooed away the stress of my exams.

Maybe that’s a dream that won’t be happening any time soon, but I can still pretend with makeup looks like this ocean-inspired eye of the day!

makeup tutorial blue green gold teal

Here’s what I used to get the look:

First, I primed my lids with Too Faced Shadow Insurance to prevent creasing and fading. Then, using a finger, I patted the light matte shade in Revlon’s Not Just Nudes quad over my lids to creates a base to amplify the vibrance of the colors to follow.

makeup tutorial blue green gold teal

Next, I covered the inner two thirds of my eyelid with Victoria’s Secret Eyeshadow in Blue-Ray.

makeup tutorial blue green gold teal
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MAC Fabulous Felines: A Cat Lady Tribute

June 11th, 2010 by Karen 47 Comments

mac fabulous felines

Remember those March murmurs about a little something called MAC Fabulous Felines? Well, it’s still a few months away (August in the US; September internationally), but after Tabs spotted these fabulous promotional pictures yesterday, he insisted we do a tribute look.

OG MAC Fabulous Felines tabby promo pic!

mac fabulous felines
Homegirl version!

Ya gotta love how Tabs smiles with his eyes. 😉

The look didn’t turn out exactly like the tabby promo pic we used for inspiration, but I ended up liking the smokey gray/brown combo for the eyes.
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Stay Frosty with the New Urban Decay Sephora Exclusive Shadows

June 11th, 2010 by Karen 26 Comments

urban decay eyeshadow review

stay frosty |stÄ ËˆfrÃ´stÄ“|
colloquial
1 A phrase which has come to mean “be cool,” but which more properly understood is an admonishment to stay alert and on one’s toes : stay frosty, and man the barricades!

2 What Urban Decay wants people who wear their new eyeshadow colors to do : Urban Decay wants us to stay frosty and look hawt.

So I’m kinda lovin’ on Urban Decay’s new eyeshadow colors, but WOW! — they sure are frosty.

Freelove, Woodstock, Psychedelic Sister, Haight, Dashiki and Aquarius launched exclusively at Sephora and Sephora.com last month ($17 each), and they have everything UD lovers (like moi) adore about the line — smooth textures, playful pigments and insane color payoff — along with a whole lotta frost.

While I love a good frosty shadow, they aren’t always the easiest products to wear. Go even a tad overboard with them (been there, done that), and they can look heavy on the skin and highlight fine lines and wrinkles.
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A Cheap and Easy Way to Store Your Lipsticks and Gloss

June 8th, 2010 by Karen 64 Comments

Makeup organization ideas

Back before BIC lighters and matches, primitive men went on quests for fire! And today, not unlike ancient man, I embarked upon my own special quest, but this one was for neatness and better makeup organization.

It took weeks of preparation! — okay, maybe not weeks. 🙂 The idea stemmed from a comment left by MBB reader Marisa (thanks, girl!) and the eyeliners and cream shadows I dealt with a couple of weeks ago.

Before that, I’d resigned to let my lip products live lives of disarray, tossing them all into a clear plastic box.

But that just wasn’t working.

Makeup organization ideas

I was stressing out every time I had to pull it out to find something, like yesterday, when I spent an obnoxious amount of time looking for my tube of Lychee Luxe (I knew it was in there!).

There had to be a better way.

A better way

See, this is why I love craft stores: cheap and easy storage solutions. For this project I needed scissors, Scotch tape, one big box and a bunch of smaller empty boxes from lipsticks and gloss.

Step 1

Find the big box. It should be deeper/taller than your longest lip product when you stand it up inside the box. I picked this pink one because not only does it fit my longest gloss, but it also has a lid, which makes it stackable.

Makeup organization ideas

Step 2

Flatten one of your empty lipstick/lipgloss boxes, and cut it through the middle to split it in half.

Makeup organization ideas
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