Unsung Heroes

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Physicians Formula Powder Palette in Blushing Berry

August 16th, 2013 by Karen 5 Comments

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Jenn Coyle of hellobrio.com. You can also find Jenn on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, Etsy and Society6.

This is a story about love…

It begins with a young girl who learned early on that blush was a staple in her regime; a driving force in her life. She started off slowly, using whatever her mom helped her choose.

One day, she graduated from Cover Girl Cheekers to Physicians Formula blushes. That big step marked the beginning of her blush addiction — choosing to spend upwards of $10 on a blush when there were perfectly good blushes for $3 or $4. At that point, there was no going back. This girl was hopelessly in love with loving blushes.

Years later, said girl had been ’round the proverbial blush block. Now a connoisseur, purchasing in ranges from cheap-cheap to drugstore to high-end, she had a sizable number of blush compacts in her collection.

I apologize for getting philosophical with you, but here goes: they say once a person has too many options, the person can begin to feel paralyzed when forced to make a decision.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: NARS Matte Eyeshadow in Thunderball

August 15th, 2013 by Karen 10 Comments

NARS Matte Eyeshadow in Thunderball ($24)

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Radhika Mohan of weekendramblings.com. You can also find Radhika on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Google+.

For a good part of my makeup life, I had only read about NARS on makeup blogs, but we didn’t (still don’t) have NARS back home in India, and all I could do was stare at photos of “the best blushes ever.” It was only when I came to the US that I could finally try out products from this brand, and the blushes weren’t what really caught my eye. My favorite products from NARS are the eyeshadows, and considering how much I love a dark smokey eye, my pick for an unsung makeup hero would be NARS Matte Eyeshadow in Thunderball.

Thunderball is described as a midnight gray, but to me, this is a deep greenish gray that can look almost black under certain lights. Like most NARS powder products, Thunderball too comes packaged in a small black compact with a mirror on one side and a transparent plastic cover protecting the eyeshadow on the other.

Thunderball is a matte eyeshadow with a velvety smooth texture — no chalkiness to this one! It is amazingly pigmented and pretty much true to the color in the pan. On lighter skin tones, the greenish undertone would show up better, but on my darker skin, this can be mistaken for a grey or even black. In the swatch below, I have added a black eyeshadow just for comparison (it’s the black from L’Oreal Hip Duo in Dashing, for anyone who’s curious).

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: RMS Beauty Living Luminizer

August 14th, 2013 by Karen 11 Comments

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Laurie Leopold of 312beauty.com. You can also find Laurie on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

Without a doubt, highlighter is one of the hardest working products in my makeup bag. Admittedly, I have an entire drawer full of them in liquid, cream and powder variations.

Don’t wear it? Perhaps it’s a matter of finding the right one. That might just be the only thing standing in the way of you getting your supermodel on. And I mean that rather literally.

My holy grail highlighter is RMS Living Luminizer ($38), developed by Rose-Marie Swift, makeup artist to supermodels everywhere. Giselle and Miranda Kerr are fans of RMS Beauty and who doesn’t want to look like them? They make flawless and glowy look so easy.

Despite the stockpile of highlighter I’ve managed to accumulate, Living Luminizer stands out from the rest.

The long-running Makeup and Beauty Blog Unsung Heroes series features much-loved permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

Made with just a handful of ingredients, including coconut oil and beeswax, Living Luminizer is a sheer balm that leaves skin glowing and fresh. No glitter or sparkle, just supermodel-worthy glow. The kind that you notice but don’t see.

There’s not much this Luminizer can’t do. It even works on all skin tones, from the fair to the deep. If this was the only beauty product I used on any given day, I’d be all right. Use your fingers or a brush — or both, as I prefer. It’s a no-rules highlighter. It goes far beyond use on just cheekbones and brow bones.

Living Luminizer can also…

…oomph up concealer. Because the formula is nearly translucent, it can be used under the eyes. I mix it with a little dab of RMS “Un” Cover-Up and it brightens and conceals.
…double as eye shadow. Blend ever so slightly on the lid, focusing on the center. I wear a primer if I do this and usually tote it along in my bag for touchups.
…illuminate your body. Sometimes you just need to highlight your clavicle, you know? Also, I love blending just a bit onto shoulders when wearing a sleeveless dress. You notice the effect but don’t see the product.
…be used as lip gloss. Always dab a bit at the bow of your lips and even wear as a base for lip gloss. The coconut oil is nourishing so you don’t have to worry about it drying out your lips.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: The Hourglass Visionnaire Duo in Prism

August 12th, 2013 by Karen 23 Comments

Hourglass Prism — Wearing the Visionnaire Duo in Prism by Hourglass…and wondering if I remembered to shave my ‘pits

As a lifetime member of The S.O.S.E. (The Society of Smokey Eyes), I pledge…

To acknowledge my fellow sisters/brothers with a fist bump (the standard S.O.S.E. greeting) and by saying our motto loud and proud, “Smokey eye ’til I die.”
To wear smokey eyes whenever I damn well please! — and not just when it’s considered seasonally or otherwise appropriate (fall, winter and evenings out on the town).
To never, ever withhold sensational smokey eye accouterments, like the $38 Hourglass Cosmetics Visionaire Duo in Prism, from my beauty brethren, and to always spread the gospel of smokey eye love and truth to the best of my abilities.

I’ve been stuck on this duo big time, babe, and the main reason is that black eyeshadow on the right…

It’s SO KILLER.

Imagine the darkest, deepest, truest black shadow that haunts your makeup dreams. Then make it smoother than Jeremy Renner singing in a smokey jazz bar, add powder grains that refuse fallout, and give it the cutest flecks of silvery blue glitter.

And not just a lame sprinkling of glitter, but a perfect amount — just enough to wink at you without venturing into tween makeup territory.

Swatching it on the back of your hand is like looking into a night sky filled with twinkling stars…

I fall asleep thinking about this eyeshadow, no joke. 🙂

Oh, but it gets better. The other half of this duo rocks just as hard.

It’s a shimmery slate, like a combination of periwinkle Crayola crayons and thunderstorm clouds, that buffs and blends into beautiful, smooth gradients.

Neither color leans too cool nor warm, so this is truly one of those smokey eye duos that almost everyone can wear.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Hourglass Cosmetics Veil Mineral Primer

August 1st, 2013 by Karen 13 Comments

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Rae of The RAEviewer.com. You can also find Rae on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram.

The Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer SPF 15 ($52) is worth fighting for. The sleek lines of the frosted glass bottle make this primer hard to resist, but the addition of the naturally derived titanium dioxide and zinc oxide instead of chemical sun-blocking agents make this Holy Grail material in my beauty book. Sunscreen in face makeup products tends to smell funky, but the Veil is oil-free and truly fragrance-free. I adore how this unique mineral-based, water-resistant formula manages to even out my open pores without irritating my sensitive skin, and it also calms the redness on my cheeks and around my nose, though I do recommend topping with a concealer for more coverage.Â

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso

July 31st, 2013 by Karen 25 Comments

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Stef of weheartthis.com. You can also find Stef (and Tyna) on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+.

I’m almost embarrassed by my lip product collection.

Almost.

It requires its own shelving system and contains at least 30 nearly identical coral glosses. And it confuses my husband to the point of exhaustion (“How many lipsticks does one person need, Stef?! I don’t get it!”)

But my fellow lip product junkies, you understand, don’t you? You appreciate the difference between fuchsia and hot pink. You’re staunchly opinionated about your favorite gloss applicators (DFF/doe foot forever!), and you know that the correct answer to the question, “How many lipsticks does one person need?” is, “How many lipsticks are there?”

Folks like us also know that, sometimes, nothing will do but a red lip, and when I’m having a red lip kind of day and I open my red lip drawers (yes, plural), the red I reach for most often is Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso ($22). It’s a gorgeous color, an innovative product and my favorite red. Like, ever.

Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick doesn’t stay quite all day, unless your day is six hours long (in which case, I’m terribly jealous), but for those six hours it’s not going anywhere. No transfer onto napkins, no traces left behind on hubby cheeks or puppy bellies, and no bleeding into lip lines whatsoever.
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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Revlon Fire & Ice Super Lustrous Lipstick

July 26th, 2013 by Karen 21 Comments

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Arianne de Guzman of Glitter Geek. You can also find Arianne on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Fact: bright lips give me life. Whenever I’m in an especially sassy mood, a great vibrant lipstick always hits the spot. One of my go-to drugstore brands for statement lipstick is Revlon. Revlon Fire & Ice Super Lustrous Lipstick is an iconic shade that was launched in the 1950s. Depending on your skin’s undertones, Fire & Ice can pull warm or cool, but there’s no denying that it’s a stunner.

When wearing a red lipstick like Fire & Ice, I have to be extra careful to conceal all the redness out of my skin, or risk looking feverish. Instead of blush, I lightly dust my face with bronzer. Then, I fill in my brows, and wear something simple on my eyes like a flicked eyeliner, or a subtle smudging of grey or brown eyeliner.

The long-running Unsung Heroes series features much-loved permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

As with my other vibrant lip shades, I adapt Fire & Ice to whatever I’m doing that day. Going in for a day at the office? Lightly press over lip balm for a sheer stain. Wanna dress to impress at an evening event? In this case, I apply straight from the tube and precisely shape the lines with a lip brush.

Revlon Fire & Ice Lipstick worn as a stain

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balms

July 25th, 2013 by Karen 12 Comments

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Jessica Desjardins of Beautezine. You can also find Jessica on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.

There are a few things I love to collect, like cute USB keys, shoes and Maybelline Baby Lips lip balms.

As much as I adore makeup, I don’t consider myself a collector of limited-edition collections, adorable packaging or even designer pieces, but I can’t help myself when it comes to these Maybelline Baby Lips. I just have to have them all!

I admit that I have a slight addiction to these fun, colorful lip balms…

I don’t feel too guilty though. They retail for just $3.99 USD / $4.99 CAD each, so my wallet doesn’t get angry at me when I feel the need to hoard a few more. The permanent lineup features six shades — two of which are clear and the other four have a sheer tint. Sometimes they launch limited edition shades too, and those fly off the shelves super fast (psst! keep your eyes peeled for the new neon shades this fall).

Maybelline Baby Lips in (L-R) Pink Punch, Grape Vine, Peach Kiss, Cherry Me & Quench

I wanted to share five of my favorite shades and a bit about why I’m so head-over-heels for these drugstore lippies.

First of all, they’re totally adorable. The fun packaging features bold colors and a cute design. Next, they smell great and have a sheer tint that’s totally fool-proof to apply, yet slightly buildable too. These are the types of lip balms that you keep in your office drawer, on your nightstand, and a couple in every purse. Finally, they have SPF20, so they are great for daily protection (but don’t have that awful sunscreen taste), and they’re super moisturizing too.

The long-running Unsung Heroes series features much-loved permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

Quenched. Quenched, probably my most-loved shade, is clear and smells like lemon-lime. It has a permanent spot on my nightstand; I use it each night before I go to bed, and my lips feel soft, smooth and hydrated every morning.

Peach Kiss. Peach Kiss is another favorite. It smells like peaches and has a shimmery, peachy bronze tint. It’s pretty neutral, so it goes with almost every look! It’s my go-to when I’m in a rush or can’t decide on a lip color.

Pink Punch. Pink Punch is a super fun, bright pink with a berry scent. It’s quite buildable and pairs perfectly with an ultra black cat eye!

Cherry Me. Cherry Me is your classic cherry Chapsticky balm kicked up a few notches. The juicy cherry scent is totally nostalgic and leaves lips with a rosy tint.

Grape Vine. Grape Vine is so dark that it might look a little scary in the tube, but it goes on super sheer and kisses lips with a soft berry tint. The grape scent is so amazing I wish I could eat it!

I could go on and on about these lip balms, but really, it comes down to this: they’re affordable, hydrating, cute and come in some pretty awesome shades. If you haven’t tried them yet, run — don’t walk — and snatch up as many as you can because you’ll definitely love them all!

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