NOTE: The following post is just a short summary of the items I found useful in this month's magazine. For the full Beauty Pages, I encourage you to purchase the magazine!
Shop Til You Drop May 2012: front cover
Front Feature:
Neapolitan Dream
Focus on pastel colours like blush pink, lilac, mint green and sky blue.
Seen in eyeshadows, blushes, lip glosses, nail polishes.
Covetable brands/products
Illamasqua Cream Pigment ; MAC ; Estée Lauder Signature Hydra Lustre Lipstick ; The Body Shop
News Flash:
Skin Soothers: You Me & Everybody Sumptuous Skin Mousse, $14.99
Hair: Amazon Beauty Rahua Nut Voluminous Shampoo, $42.00
Memo from the Beauty Cupboard:
* Article about Napoleon Perdis products: working with neutrals. Start with a good primer and foundation. Combine different shades and finishes, matte with creamy, etc. Make sure brows are refined and mascara is defined but not over-the-top.
* Fragrance: Givenchy Very Irresistable Electric Rose.
Feature: Perfume to Suit Your Mood
Cheerful: Kenzo Flower Tag ; Vivienne Westwood Cheeky Alice ; Filles des Iles Amber Kiss
Inspired: Yves St Laurent Saharienne ; Rance 1795 Eau de Noblesse
Loud: Illamasqua Freak ; Tokyo Milk Dark in Excess ; Juliette Has a Gun Vengeance Extreme
Chilled-Out: Calvin Klein Sheer Beauty ; Creed Silver Mountain Water
Flirty: Fleurage Turkish Delight ; Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia
Creed Silver Mountain Water, $259.00. I wish!!
Feature: Be A Mix Master
Wrinkles: fruit acid (i.e. glycolic acid) product in the morning, retinol (i.e. Vitamin A) at night. Vitamin C products also help.
Breakouts: glycolic and salicylic acid in the morning, benzoyl peroxide used sparingly at night. Only use a tiny amount of cleanser.
Splurges & Steals:
Splurges: Tokyo Milk Dark Body Souffle in Chance (fig and musk), $49.95 ; Estee Lauder Re-Nutriv Re-Creation Eye Balm and Night Serum Duo, $550.00
Steals: Butter London Nail Lacquer in Trout Pout, $22.00 ; The Body Shop Born Lippy The Stick, $10.95 ; Palmer's Cocoa Butter Eventone Perfecting Cream, $12.99
I love the look of Estee Lauder packaging: so 50s and glamorous!
NOTE: All images are from Pinterest.
NOTE: The following post is just a short summary of the items I found useful in this month's magazine. For the full Beauty Pages, I encourage you to purchase the magazine!
Shop Til You Drop February 2012: front cover
Front Feature:
Read My Lips - lip crayons are the newest product this summer.
They combine the colour coverage of lipsticks with the nourishing creamy feel of a balm. The crayon-like pencil tip makes them easy to apply as well.
Covetable brands/products - Australis Show Stopper Gloss Stick ;
Models Prefer Professional Lipgloss Pencil
News Flash:
Lip Balms: Lip Smackers Soda-Pop Caps in Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite, $4.99
Nail Polish: Miss Shop in Marry Me Harry (pale solid lavender), $7.95
Highlighter: Benefit Sun Beam, $45.00
Under-Eye Brightener: MAC Mineralize Charged Water Moisture Eye Cream, $64.00
Memo from the Beauty Cupboard:
* Article about 2-in-1 products: matching nail polishes, double-pot eyeshadows,
double-purpose mascara and 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner. e.g. Rimmel London Glam'Eyes Day2Night Mascara, $16.95. Has settings for length or volume.
* Pulse Point: The Aromatherapy Co. Jet Lag Pulse Point, $14.95.
* Fragrance: The Body Shop White Musk Libertine, $43.95.
Feature: Pretty Cheap
Skin:
* Look for large companies that can afford to put effective ingredients in cheaper products.
* Spend according to 'cost per wear' principle, i.e. less on wash-off products and more on leave-on products. e.g. Nivea face wash.
* Use at-home cloth masks rather than going to a beauty salon. Cloth masks have very effective ingredients.
Makeup:
* Foundation will last longer if applied with a brush. Use cheaper, synthetic brushes, just make sure there are no loose bristles and they have tapered edges. They're easier to clean than natural-hair brushes as well. Powders last longer than creams or liquids.
* Don't skimp on primers and concealers. They provide a good base for experimenting with cheaper colour cosmetics.
* Test colour cosmetics if you can to make sure they look the same on the skin as in the package. If you want to experiment with colour, buy a large eyeshadow palette rather than singles. e.g. Sax International Colour Blockbuster Makeup Kit, $24.95.
* Don't use an eyeliner if it drags on the skin. The price is no indicator of whether this will be a problem, so don't be afraid to try cheaper eyeliners.
* Mascara has the shortest shelf life of all makeup products, so don't spend too much on it.
Hair:
* Buy shampoo and conditioner in the largest size available to get value for money.
* If you want to experiment with curling your hair, get cheaper hot rollers rather than a plug-in styling tool. All hot roller brands are consistent in quality,
so you may as well buy a cheaper one.
* Hairspray is not expensive to make, so don't spend a lot on it.
e.g. Cedel Extra Firm Hairspray, $4.99.
* Hair serum may seem expensive, but you only need to use a tiny bit, so it lasts for ages.
e.g. John Frieda Frizz-Ease Hair Serum, $23.99.
Nails:
* If you use a quality base coat and top coat, you can then get away with buying cheaper nail polish colours. e.g. Ulta3, $2.00.
Tools:
* Mini size tools are often cheaper than full-size ones and work just as well.
e.g. Ecotools Bamboo 5-piece Brush Set, $25.95.
Ulta3 Nail Polish in Crystallina
Feature: No-Sweat Hair
Frizzy Hair: using a boar-bristle brush will smooth hair. Don't dry hair with a towel.
Let it dry naturally or wrap it in a micro-fibre turban.
Sea Salt Spray: wait until hair is mostly dry before applying. Spritz on generously and wait a few minutes, or wrap hair around fingers to create loose curls.
Baby Powder: works as a dry shampoo and a volumiser. Remove half the powder from the bottle so it puffs rather than sprinkles when you squeeze it. If you have dark hair, add a few drops of brown food colouring and shake well.
Leave-In Serums: Schwarzkopf Extra Care Liquid Silk Gloss Instant Repair Treatment, $8.99.
Feature: Tricked-Up Digits
Easy Nail Art:
* Use a shatter polish.
* Paint ring finger in contrasting or complimentary colour to the rest.
Look to fashion catwalks to find good colour combos.
Level 2 Nail Art:
* Try graduated glitter or ombre effect.
* Paint nails clear with French tips in different colours.
* Deco with polka dots, stripes or checks.
* Try nail stickers.
Splurges & Steals:
Splurges: Burberry Beauty Sheer Concealer, $55.00 ; Thalgo Collagen Cream, $79.00
Steals: Rimmel London Lasting Finish Scented Nail Polish, $5.95 ; BYS Large Eyeshadow Palette in Mix 2, $7.95
Eyeshadow Palette. Yes, please!
NOTE: All images are from Pinterest.