Tuesday Tip: Know About Nars

I'm not only a fan of Nars because of their amazing color range, but also the fact that their colors are pigmented....that's right, when you put on their eyeshadow or blush you actually see the color without having to use a ton of product! They have great new colors for the fall including a new duo eyeshadow with plum and a dusty rose. Also check out their nail colors, or look for something similar at your local drug store...we are talking chocolate, plum, gray and taupe for fall....I LOVE it! The colors make me think of an argyle sweater, which is oh so fall!

Tuesday Tip: Nice Nails

How does Essie always draw me in with each new color collection?! I am adoring their new fall collection with colors that really represent fall....muted tones, a rust color, charcoal, and of course a deep dark plum. These colors are retro and fall at the same time, be sure to get one or find something similar at your local drug store!




Photo from www.enailsupply.com

Tuesday Tip: Try New Eyeshadow

Do you tend to wear the exact same eyeshadow everyday? If you answered yes then it's time to change it up...you can go out and get all new colors, or just change one color in your daily routine. For example, if you usually use a matte cream color as a highlight or base try something with a shimmer. If you usually use a light brown for your contour switch to a red brown or a brown with a sheen to it. While I don't recommend using all shimmer shadows unless you are in your teens, twenties or going to an event you can still mix in a little shimmer.

When it comes to great shadows that are pigmented and have a great sheen Stila is the answer. A few favorite colors of mine: go lightly, kitten, starlight, barefoot contessa, twig, poise, and coco.

If you don't want to buy an individual eyeshadow Stila offers lots of super cute pallates with great colors. An added bonus is that if you sign up for the newsletter on Stila's website you will get 20% off your next purchase....eyeshadows anyone??!

Tuesday Tip: Terrific Tweezers

I realized today that I haven't shared with all of you my favorite tweezers....you've probably heard of Tweezerman products and that their tweezers are the best, well, it's true! I got hooked on this product when I first started doing makeup. They were a suggested product on my supplies list for makeup school and I figured they had to be great since my instructor and others at the school recommended them...after actually using them on my clients and on my own brows I saw how GREAT they are. These tweezers in many makeup artists' kits....which means they are a product for the pros, and one you can own and use everyday. Their most popular design is the slanted tweezer. I LOVE that there are so many designs and colors offered (why should tweezers be boring, right?!), and while you may think $25 is a lot for tweezers you can know that they will last. You can mail them in to be sharpened for FREE and they can be repaired for $5 (all of this info is on their fabulous website).

Whether you just need new tweezers, travel size tweezers or a brow kit Tweezerman is where you should look. You can easily find this product at Sephora, Ulta, or drug stores.

Quick tip: if you tweeze your own brows remember to step away from the mirror from time to time so you can look at yourself from afar, this will help you avoid ending up with super thin brows that need to be penciled in...and remember less is more, tweeze a few hairs at a time, don't overdo it.

Tuesday Tip: Spread the Word

It's hot outside so I want to give you a reason to shop...in an air conditioned place with makeup. I am going to do a giveaway of a gift card in the amount of $15 to the winner's choice of Ulta or Sephora. Here are the two components that will make the drawing happen....

1. Spread the word about my blog to your friends. I will not do the drawing until I have 50 followers...I'm at 32 as of now, so I don't think I'm asking for too much :)

2. Comment on a blog post from today forward...only people who comment will be entered for the drawing.

Once I reach 50 followers I will enter the names of people who commented into random.org (in the order they comment in) and I will let random.org select a winner. Then the winner will just have to let me know where they would like to shop within 48 hours of me announcing the winner, which means you will need to check my blog. Let's see how quickly I can give away a gift card!

Tuesday Tip: Watch Out for This Heat

With these extreme summer temperatures now is not the time to leave your makeup in your hot car...not only will annoying things happen, like lipstick melting and concealer oozing out of the tube. Your foundation and concealer can go bad if you leave it in extreme heat enough times. So, if you take your makeup with you during the day carry a purse or bag big enough to throw it in there so it can stay in air conditioning. Makeup is something that you don't want to go to waste, replacing it is costly and inconveinent.

Need a fun way to keep cool this summer? Try this fun tip that I did when working at Armani Cosmetics: Put your toner over ice (or in the fridge for awhile if you are at home), when you use it you will feel extra refreshed!

Tuesday Tip: Shop the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

Every year, in July to be exact, Nordstrom has their Anniversary Sale. This is a sale like no other...their brand new fall merchandise is marked down for two weeks and then the prices go up on August first. You can find boots for fall, cute tops, jeans, accessories and more for great prices. One of my favorite things to check out during the sale are all of the beauty products. Most lines launch a limited edition item or set for the sale. Other lines pull their best selling products and put them in a set together...this is a GREAT time to buy products you love at a marked down price, or try something new.

A few of the sets I'm loving are:

Bobbi Brown 'Tortoise Shell Beauty Kit: this set includes a shimmer brick and gel liner (two products I mention here and use often) in addition to other great items



Kiehl's Powerful Moisture Restoring Set: This set has five items, two are favorites of mine, Avacado Eye Cream and Ultra Facial Cream. It is a $116 value and is only $76 during the sale.



Estee Lauder's free gift with purchase is full of products you will actually use and the bag they are in is adorable! The gift with either eye shadows or blush (and other fun things) is yours with a $35 purchase.

To see all of the beauty exclusives click here. Happy shopping!