Thursday, March 12, 2009

Mascara Drugstore Gem

I found yet another mascara that I just needed to tell you about. Except this one really trumps all my other mascaras and is now at the top of my list. And it's a drugstore mascara, which means it's perfect for the recessionista beauties!

Cover Girl Professional All-in-One Curved Brush Mascara is fabulous. I used to use this one as my third mascara each day for my routine, but now I realize that I really can just use Cover Girl Professional All-in-One by itself and I'm good to go. One day I was running out the door and decided to use only this blue tube and was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked at lengthening my lashes and not clumping. Cover Girl Professional All-in-One is a mascara girl's dream.

I picked this one up at Target one day for a few bucks because I needed a change from my usual suspects. I picked it because it had a different shaped brush - it's actually curved, which helps give you more coverage on your lashes. This mascara is true to its all-in-one name because it lengthens, darkens, and thickens. I usually follow it up with my shu uemura eyelash curler, but even if I didn't, my lashes would still look fabulous.

Find Cover Girl Professional All-in-One Curved Brush Mascara on Drugstore.com for $4.79.

-A

Thursday, March 5, 2009

The Top 5 Tools For Your Makeup Bag

There are just some supplemental tools that every girl needs in her makeup bag. Here are the top five products that you should always consider having on hand when doing your makeup. Every makeup professional is bound to have these tools in her makeup bag!

The Q-tip - mistakes happen and sometimes you need to make a tiny adjustment to a beautiful job you have just completed on your lids. Don't mess up your job with your fingers - use a Q-tip to correct a liquid liner gone wrong or to even apply some eyeshadow primer that doesn't have an applicator, like Benefit's F-Y-Eye, to your lids.

Brushes - it is an excellent idea to invest in a good set of brushes. Although they may be quite pricey, they will certainly last you a long time, especially if you properly care for them and clean them frequently with brush cleanser. In fact, there are lots of brush sets that are available at Sephora and other department stores, especially around holiday time. This can help keep the cost down. The only thing you need to keep in mind with a set is that these brushes are factory processed, rather than put together by hand (as is the case with single, more expensive brushes), but still work just fine!

Wedges - these are perfect to help spread any liquid product, like foundation or primer, evenly onto the skin. Oftentimes, as you spread a product with your fingers, it will get stuck in the crevices of your fingerprints, leaving a lot of your product wasted and washed away. Additionally, the natural oils from your fingers can easily be transferred on to your face, unnecessarily greasing up your clean face. Save time, money, and frustration with these friendly sponges.

Tweezers - even if you get waxed, you'll still find some unfriendly strays growing in prematurely. To keep up with your brows in between waxing appointments, pluck the few strays you've got. But be very careful not to mess with the shape of the brow - that means don't go above the brow or attempt to get a hair that might mean plucking more than needed. Only obvious ones should be tweezed.

Lash Curler - on days when I'm barely wearing makeup, I still manage to use my lash curler to give my lashes a boost. Of course, I think the best one out there is the shu uemura curler, hands down. Use before and after applying mascara so that you really get the fullest and most voluminous-looking lashes possible. And although lash curlers may be intimidating to some, it really makes a difference in your face - promise!

What are some of YOUR fave tools for your makeup bag?

-A