Beauty is Easy

One Woman Chops It All Off for Locks of Love

Storey — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:29:49 +0000

Total Beauty reader Bradi goes from below-the-boob hair to a stylish bob

This is a TotalBeauty.com makeover article

Locks of Love and Nexxus joined forces to inspire people to donate their hair for a good cause. See one real woman’s hair makeover.

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Cheap Thrills With Rimmel London The Max Volume Flash Waterproof Mascara

Storey — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:29:44 +0000

Rimmel is what inexpensive drugstore makeup should be: affordable, but still quality enough to want to use daily. Their new The Max Volume Flash Waterproof Mascara is deal at $7.48 and has some good qualities. The thick brush has evenly spaced bristles that easily coat every lash without clumping and the waterproof formula dries fast and helps the product stay put all day long.

The volume seems to be lacking though. Despite claims of 14 times thicker lashes, multiple coats still left my fringe pretty skimpy. I know what a volumizing mascara can do – I use one daily – but this falls very short. A word of caution too – if you try to apply too many wet coats you will get some clumping. The waterproof formula came off fairly well with soap and water, but a makeup remover wiped it up in a snap.

As long as you aren’t looking to add volume this is a good basic mascara: easy to apply, coats well without clumping and stays put all day.

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Dramatic Celeb Makeunders

Storey — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:21:18 +0000

See how toning down makeup and hairdos transform these stars for the better

This is a TotalBeauty.com makeup article

Some of these photos capture a mere makeunder moment, while other celebrity’s less-is-more look seems here to stay.

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Sophia Loren In A Bottle? Moncarlino Rejuvenating Serum

Storey — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:55:21 +0000

Moncarlino comes with a pretty little back story. Paolo Marconato was visiting his families property “Moncarlino” in Italy’s wine country, he found his grandmother’s handwritten beauty recipe tucked in a diary. She blended extracts from apples, olives and grapes on the property with spring water and applied it to her skin daily. From that Moncarlino Rejuvenating Serum was born.

The formula has been significantly altered since grandma’s day but still contains the original ingredients. This lightweight serum is worn under your moisturizer day and night to help retain skins moisture and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. The additions of anti-aging ingredients like GABA complex, Co Q-10 and Ceramide III bring grandma’s beauty secret into modern day.

The serum comes in a pretty square bottle with a pump. The formula is lightweight and 1 pump is enough to cover the entire face and neck. It has a pleasant light floral and vanilla scent and absorbs very quickly. During the hot summer months I’m hesitant to add another layer to my skin care routine, but this wasn’t even noticeable and helped keep my skin moisturized longer during the day.

I’ve only used the product for a few days, so I can’t attest to any change in fine lines or wrinkles, but my skin is noticeably less dry. Since I’m prone to breakouts too, I appreciate that this product hasn’t caused any of that and has helped my skin feel softer without the greasiness that many serums can bring.

Currently only available online, you can use code E67108J during the next two months to receive 15% off at checkout.

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Younger Looking Skin from Head-to-Toe

Storey — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:18:24 +0000

Learn the importance and the how-tos of your anti-aging routine

This is a TotalBeauty.com body article

This guide includes everything from the best anti-aging body products to post summer skin repair to secrets to a younger looking body.

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Zit-B-Gone With Erno Laszlo Targeted Blemish Control

Meghan H — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 14:52:06 +0000

Gone are the days when a good sing-y, burn-y, peeling-the-upper-layer-of-skin-off-your-face acne treatment brings me joy. As I creep closer to 30 and the mini little lines pop up around my eyes, I look more towards moisturizing treatments and protective skincare. However, and much to my chagrin, I still get zits. Unfair! So, when I came across the opportunity to try some of Erno Laszlo’s Acne Skincare line, I was initially hesitant: would my sensitive skin freak out trying an acne line?

It took a few weeks of waiting, but just as I started to think “hey, maybe I really don’t get zits anymore,” a tiny little colony popped up on my chin. This isn’t the first time that a sneaky little sebaceous sect set up residence. In the past I’ve tried combating them with zit cream, only to end up with rough, scaly skin and some mighty red zits. The first thing I noticed with EL’s Targeted Blemish Control is that it does not sting going on. Secondly, there is an instant mattifying effect of the product, which helps to draw one’s attention away from the blemish. A few hours post-application, my blemishes were noticeably smaller and less red. After a nights’ rest, they were nearly indistinguishable and easily covered with makeup.

I’m stoked to have found a zit zapper that works well with my sensitive skin and doesn’t cause irritation in the surrounding skin (but still works). My one gripe? This product does not play well with liquid foundation. Though the matte finish of the product lends one to think it’ll go just hunky-dory under foundation, it seems to react with my foundation and cause a little halo of funky-toned makeup around the treatment area (something I didn’t discover until after I’d walked around with one such spot in between my eyebrows all day long!). I haven’t tried it with powder foundation, but maybe it’s only a problem with liquid?

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The Priciest Facial Creams

Storey — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:24:03 +0000

Would you ever drop a grand on an anti-aging moisturizer?

This is a TotalBeauty.com skin care products article

This round up of the nine most expensive facial products will make your jaw drop. See what makes these creams so special that anyone would fathom spending their entire paycheck on a tiny tube.

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Juicy Lips With Korres Raspberry Liquid Lipstick

Storey — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:09:32 +0000

Korres makes some seriously yummy natural and organic products. I was super eager to try out the new Raspberry Liquid Lipstick. Raspberries are my favorite fruit and this lip color sounded good enough to eat! This product is like a lipgloss with the rich color of a lipstain or lipstick. The formula is super light and shiny and feels very moisturizing. It’s made with Raspberry oil which is rich in vitamin E, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and has antioxidant properties.

Available in 6 shades ranging from light to dark, I was sent Red to try. Thinking it would wear like a gloss, I swiped some on and then looked in the mirror. GAK! The color is super rich and dark and didn’t go on like I thought. I quickly redistributed with my finger tip and Voila! sexy siren lips! I approached subsequent applications a little more carefully, but still needed to use my finger to make sure the color was applied just so. I imagine the lighter colors might be a little more forgiving of a casual application. Blotting also give a less intense stained lip look. The only bummer – the product doesn’t smell like raspberries. But it does have a yummy vanilla scent!

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A New Mom’s Guide to Looking Pretty

Storey — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:24:03 +0000

Have zero time for a beauty routine? Check out these tricks for looking put together in a snap

This is a TotalBeauty.com hairstyles article

Busy moms rejoice — we have some tips for low maintenance makeup and hairstyles that’ll make you look and feel pretty.

Get tips

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Prep For Fall With Lorac’s Evening Out Complexion Kit and Close-Up Eye Tutorial Kit

Storey — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:25:53 +0000

Yay! Fall makeup is hitting the shelves! It’s like the excitement of back to school shopping when you aren’t in school anymore. I love checking out all the new colors and looks for the upcoming season. After a summer of very minimal makeup and laid-back style, I’m excited to start playing with makeup again.

Two fun new products from Lorac are the puntastically named Evening Out Complexion Kit and the Close-Up Real Life To Red Carpet Eye Tutorial Kit. Both satisfy my love of multi-tasking pre-paired kits with easy to use products. The Evening Out Complexion Kit is a large mirrored compact with two concealers, a powder foundation a sponge applicator and a little concealer brush. Great for you morning makeup application or a touch up, the products will work with every skin type. The powder foundation has a creamy consistancy (definitely use a sponge or fingertips to apply – a brush gets gunked up) but is oil free (and paraben free to boot!). The kit only comes in Light, Medium and Tan shades, so it’s great that the concealers (also paraben free) come in a lighter and darker shade, so you can mix to create your perfect color. Although a nice idea to take for touchups, the compact is a bit heavy – and dropped mine almost immediately, breaking the foundation and making a giant mess – handle with care.

The Close-Up Eye Tutorial kit is one of those great value kits that also comes with instructions on how to use all the products to create a look. For only $36 you get $110 worth of products: Behind The Scenes Eye Primer, Starry-Eyed Baked Eye Shadow Trio in Movie Star, Front Of The Line Pro Eyeliner in Black, Special Effects Mascara in Black. Double Ended Blending/Smudging Brush and an instruction booklet. I have light coloring, so smoky eye kits can be a bit intimidating – I don’t want to end up looking like I was in a bar fight – but the colors in this kit can be adjusted to the right depth for your desired look. The instructions can help you with a soft natural look, a sexy cat eye look or the smoky eye look. The primer is something I’m going to use more often as it kept this shadow and others I own from creasing or wearing off throughout the day – especially good since I have a bad habit of rubbing my eyes. The shimmer shadows have a subtle shimmer that can really work day or night. The eyeliner slides on easily and the blending brush had me applying shadow in ways I’d never tried before. The dual ended mascara wand has a moisturizing primer in one end and a shiny black mascara in the other. Application was a snap – the primer dried quickly and was easy to cover with the mascara. The Mascara stayed clump and flake free all day and washed off easily at night with soap and water. Although pretty easy to do, I recommend experimenting with the different looks at night before washing your face. That way you can get all the goofs out of the way before you step out the door.

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