Budget Makeup Tip!

Do you want to save and just buy one foundation instead of a tinted moisturizer and a foundation? Can't seem to find a tinted moisturizer in your skin color but you can find a foundation color? Well you can mix about a dab of foundation (a finger tip) with a nickel size amount of your favorite moisturizer (make sure it has spf) to instantly create a tinted moisturizer that perfectly matches your skin color. Just blend them together on you fingertips and apply to your face. Tinted moisturizer is a quick way to achieve a healthy tan or just to make your skin glow. Give it a try!

We recommend Olay Complete Moisturizer. It has sunblock, it doesn't' clog pores, it's oil free and it's cheap!

Honey Jeans

The Joe's Honey jeans are perfect for the girl with curves (a lot or a little). These jeans have a great waistband that come in close to cup your waist so your butt is fully covered and there isn't a gap in the back of you jeans. They come in tons of washes that are faded to help elongate your legs. Joe's has a skinny and bootcut version of The Honey fit jeans. Try a pair if you have trouble with jeans fully fitting over your bottom half.

Skinny Honey (www.JoesJeans.com) $165

Honey Jean (www.JoesJeans.com) $176

Face Stockholm Creme Blushes and Highlighters

Face Stockholm isn't as well known as it should be. Their products are very high end for reasonable prices (about as much as Stila, Benefit, Too Faced, Tarte etc) . The pigments are amazing so you only need a little swipe, which means their products last for a long time. The Face stores are very clean, beautiful, well lit and the service is amazing. They give great generous samples of their products for you to try out before you buy.

Lets start with a basic breakdown of the products:

Face Creme Blushes are sold in a shiny silver compact that closes tightly shut so you can throw it in your bag, it also includes a mirror on the lid. You get .12 oz of product (you need one finger swipe per each cheek). The cream highlighters are the same but they come in a shiny black compact.

Creme Blush- The Creme Blushes are creamy high pigmented blushes that come in an array of pinks, oranges and reds. They are very very smooth and melt at the touch of your finger tip for easy application. What we love about these products are that for some reason nothing seems to get stuck in them when you use a finger application (many cream blushes you have to use a sponge or you will get particles in the blush) this makes these products great for the beach and on the go. We have the products "Shanghai", "New York", "Rio" and Milan. Creme blushes are great for dry skin because they don't cause flaking or highlight dry patches. They are also amazing for the summer because they look great with a tan and they add a natural glowing look. We've tested them and they last all day.

(Left to right: Rio, Shanghai, New York and Milan)

"Rio" looks exactly as it sounds. It's a a sensual golden pink with a hint of shimmer. It's absolutely gorgeous on all skin tones. It's perfect for everyday wear and for a natural cheek paired with a smokey eye and nude lips.

"Shanghai" is an orangey almost tangerine colored blush that creates the most beautiful natural, glowy cheeks ever. If you have yellow undertones it brings them out to create a beautiful golden glow. It is a lot brighter than in the picture.

"New York" is a strong magenta color with a touch of hot pink. It creates the perfect doll pink cheeks with no effort. This color is great paired with a bronzer because it will create a naturally tan flushed look.

"Milan" looks scary in the pan but believe us it's a perfect warm golden tomato red that looks amazing on the apples and sweeped up on the cheekbone. The color is very pigmented but it is still sheer so that is it wearable.

Highlighter: Highlighters are sometimes forgotten but they are very important to create fresh, glowy skin and to highlight cheekbones, browbones, collarbones etc. What is great about Face highlighters is that some colors can double as a highlighter and a bronzer. These creme highlighters do not highlight pores or dry patches and they blend seamlessly into your skin. These highlighters double as a cream eyeshadow as well. Sweep these cream highlighters on the high points of your face then finish with a pop of cream blush on the apples of your cheek.


(Left to right: "Mystic", "Dignity", "Healing" and "Radiance")

"Mystic" is a silvery white that is what we would call a true highlighter for brow bones and cheekbones. This highlighter may look like many others out there but the consistency of this highlighter beats all others. It is extremely easy to blend you don't need a brush or a sponge, your finger will do!

"Dignity" is a creamy gold color with finely milled gold shimmer. It's kind of the golden version of "Mystic". It looks great with pinks and oranges. This color is great for tanned girls and paler girls too!

"Healing" is a pink bronze color. This color can be applied like a bronzer. It reminds us of the Chanel Sheer Brilliance in Golden Apricot but for less than half the price.

"Radiance" is a champagne silvery mauve color. It's really pretty to highlight because it goes on your skin lighter than it looks in the pan. On paler girls it can be used to contour cheekbones to create a dramatic look.

Face Highlighters and Creme Blushes go for $25 each. They are available at www.Facestockholm.com or any of their stores.

Basic Basics

Simple basic tops and bottoms are essential to fully form a wardrobe. Here are some simple suggestions that can really bring together a wardrobe of hodge podge accessories or random clothing pieces.

Boyfriend T: Wear alone, under a jacket or with a cardigan. Tuck it into skirts and pair with necklace for a more sophisticated look.

Tissue Boyfriend Tee (www.Jcrew.com)

Black/Dark blue Jean leggings: We can't get enough of these. They are comfortable and chic, what more could a girl want? Wear with boots, flats or flip flops and a flowy top.

The Legging Joe's Denim (www.Joesjeans.com)

Long Necklace: Throw over any outfit to glam it up.

Andrea Cheatham Vintage Extra Long Necklace (www.madisonlosangeles.com)

Patterned scarf: Scarves are great and can be worn in all seasons. Put them under blazers to add contrast or just wear alone with a boyfriend T.

Yves Saint Laurent Silk-Satin Leopard Print Scarf (www.Net-a-porter.com)

Stud earrings: Classic stud earrings are simple but still noticeable and timeless.

Divya Diamond Teardrop Stud Earrings (www.Maxandchloe.com)

Simple Schoolboy Jacket: Jackets help create a shape to shapeless shirts. A schoolboy blazer will never go out of style.

Wool Schoolboy Blazer (www.Jcrew.com)

Peacoat: When it gets chilly a Peacoat offers sophisticated warmth.

Miss Sixty Asymmetrical Peacoat (wwww.Nordstrom.com)

With these timeless pieces you will easily be able to make anything work! You can wear these pieces alone or together to polish up any outfit and achieve effortless sophistication.

Illamasqua

Illamasqua makeup created by the make up artist Alex Box is a new brand from the UK that launched in US Sephora stores last in November. They have a very interesting night time make up color range, so the many of the colors are really really vibrant. This brand is worn by Sienna Miller, Lily Allen, Adele, Beth Ditto and Karen O. We really were excited to try this brand because of the extreme cult following. Illamasqua was so sweet and sent us an eyeshadow and a lipgloss, both of which are amazing-as we expected. The eyeshadow in shade Sadist is an extremely pigmented matte royal blue shade. When we say pigmented we mean pigmented. One dip in the pan is all you need to create a beautiful blue smokey eye. This eyeshadow is so smooth that it can be applied as a liner as well (because the finely milled texture makes it very controllable). The best part about this eyeshadow (besides the amazing pigment) is that it doesn't crease and it lasts forever. The shade selection is very vast ranging from true white to inky black. (Shade: Sadist)

The lipgloss in shade Rouse is a sheer gummy pink shade. It has a great creamy, moisturizing and non-sticky consistency. It is a great shade to layer on top of lipsticks because it is really shiny, comfortable to wear and long lasting. We found that layering this lipgloss on top of a pale pink lipstick literally creates plush barbie pink lips. It has an interesting tube that is really good for on the go application because it's easy to squeeze and has a great slanted tip that contours to your lips.
The high quality makeup coupled by friendly staff secures why Illamasqua has such a huge following by professional make up artists, British club girls and everyday people like us!

Drugstore Damsel: Basic Black

Basic black eyeliner is a must have in every girls make up kit. It never goes out of style and it is essential to create most makeup looks. Black eyeliner can be worn during the daytime or evening because it is so versatile. We've tested tons of eyeliners from high end to drugstore and we've come up with an eyeliner that is affordable and comparable to some high end brands. It doesn't smudge after it is set yet it is perfect to create a smokey eye. It has pretty good pigment so your eyes look perfectly defined. Revlon's Color Stay Eyeliner meets all of the above. This made in Italy (drugstore brand made in Italy!? Crazy!) mascara lasts through a whole day. It is amazing to define the outer V of your eyes because it stays put and doesn't crease. It is a self sharpening eyeliner (the sharpener is at the end of the tube, just pull it out and set it on top of the exposed eyeliner end then twist either the eyeliner or the sharpener to make a point). We really suggest this mascara if you are looking a inexpensive good quality eyeliner.

($6.75)

Sleek Slick Pony

Achieving a perfectly slicked back ponytail like beautiful Aishwarya Rai can be hard if your hair is prone to soft fly-aways. Paul Mitchell makes a great product called Wax Works. Now, I know what your thinking: "that's a guy hair product" well this product works great for women too! Wax Works slicks back hair into perfectly neat ponytails, buns and etc. It has aloe, algae extract, henna extract and jojoba oil to create shiny, soft and sleek tresses! This product is great because it has a flexible hold but it still holds hair back neatly. Simply apply a small amount (less than a dime size) into the palm of your hands and run through hair all the way to ends. Then take a soft brush and brush hair back into a pony tail. This is a perfect product to use in a rush. A pulled back ponytail will keep you looking neat and glamorous.

www.Paulmitchell.com

Best Lip gloss Ever. Actually.

Lipfusion Color Shine is the most amazing lip gloss ever. Lipfusion uses collagen to make your lips look and feel really juicy and plump. They have a great collection of colors, that are somewhat sheer but they do have noticeable color. This gloss is great because it doesn't plump your lips using by irritating them (We have not tried any of those yet though) but instead it almost fills in your lips and moisturizes them. This gloss is really long wearing (it even lasts through eating and drinking) and really really moisturizing (you won't need a lip balm anymore) and it's not sticky at all. When it is first applied it feels normal then your lips start to tingle and in a few minutes your lips are plump! This will not make you look like Angelina Jolie if you don't have naturally full lips already, but way plumper than what a normal lip gloss would provide. It seems to almost fill in fine lines. This gloss is great for women who have cracked dry and pealing lips because it seems to hide all imperfections. We recommend it for everyone not only women who feel they need fuller lips. The top of the tube also doubles as a mirror. It's a bit pricey ($38) but it's really nice for a splurge and you get a lot in the container (.29 oz)!

Update:
We just wanted to give more of a background on this gloss and how it holds up to everyday wear. This gloss uses marine collagen which is harvested from sea plants. The collagen molecules are really small so your lips can easily absorb them. Once the collagen absorbed by the lips the collagen molecules expand when they come in contact with moisture (we encourage you to drink lots of water to hydrate your body) thus plumping and moisturizing your lips. We recommend applying to clean exfoliated lips at first (absolutely nothing on them) and waiting till the gloss wears off then re-applying it through out the day to keep your lips plump (it works best on clean lips). We also recommend applying it alone instead of on top of a lipstick or something for ultimate plumping ability. The gloss is supposed to have a permanent effect the longer you use it so we will keep you updated!

Oh! and it's on a special sale at Sephora for 10 bucks online!