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Beauty, Skin

Is This The Secret To Making Face Masks More Effective?

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When it comes to skincare, we tend to treat face masks as miracle workers in the pursuit of flawless skin. Not to mention it offers an opportunity to snap a selfie mid-mask, or if you’re like me, share your weekly skincare routine on social media (so if you’re not tuning in, you’re totally missing out!). But regardless of whether the mask is meant to moisturize, detoxify, brighten, or lift, we might not be making the most of the stuff we put on our faces.

While sheet masks do an amazing job of softening, smoothing, and brightening on skin’s surface, Sumbody Skincare Founder Deborah Burnes recently told SheFinds that those mid-pore masks, which feed skin with vitamins, nutrients, and other active ingredients, and deep-pore masks, which break up all the old dirt and grease, need more effort to be effective. Letting your mask of choice dry as you scroll through your social media feed won’t do as much as you’d expect as it only works on the surface. And in some instances, it can exacerbate skin issues like acne and make skin look worse. “Using a mask this way reverts it back to a powder which clogs your pores rather than feed them; that means your pores are being filled with more gunk,” she said.

Her suggestion? Slather on your face mask after stepping into the shower. It helps open up the pores and allows the mask to penetrate the pores even deeper. It’s why facialists use a steam machine during every treatment so that whatever’s been lurking deep in your pores will come to the surface allow whatever skincare products to sink in further. “It’s the beautiful moist heat in the shower that acts like a gentle steam and creates this skin-loving magic,” Burnes explained to the site. “The steam also keeps the active ingredients alive and viable and keeps the mask potent.”

Talk about an easy and cost-effective way to get that spa experience! It looks like I’ll have to start snapping my #SkincareSunday Showdown stories from my shower — hey I’m already prone to taking pictures in my bathroom anyway.

Beauty, Makeup

Besame Cosmetics Is Creating An Avengers: Infinity War Collection!

Photo: Marvel/Disney via YouTube.

Hold onto your popcorn, kittens! In the week leading up to the release of Avengers: Infinity War, Besame’s throwing down the gauntlet on cosmetic collaborations with a mini Marvel collection!

The brand made the surprise announcement in a livestream of its Agent Carter collection launch during Disneyland’s Dapper Day celebration. It’s an annual celebration at Disney parks where guests are invited to show off their “refined style from yesterday and today with fun accessories and events.” (Which my pal Misti, who also runs CousinsWhoDisney, told me about) The collection is modeled after the highly coveted Infinity Stones that we’ve seen pop up throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe that are tied to different aspects of the universe. And with Thanos having all of those all-powerful and brightly colored gems in hand, the universe is in for a world of hurt unless the Avengers and the Guardians of The Galaxy can save it.

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Beauty, Makeup

Bite Beauty’s Latest Zodiac Lipstick Taps Into Taurus’s Sensual Side

Photo courtesy of Bite Beauty.

Taurus season has finally arrived, and Bite Beauty has already found a way to indulge: a new lipstick!

The brand has added another lipstick to its Astrology Amouse Bouche collection, and it just hit stores today! As with the others signs released so far, this limited-edition launch uses the signature traits of each sun sign to customize the color. While Aries had everyone seeing red with a fiery hue, Taurus taps into the sign’s element for a muted white-chocolate rose hue that the brand says is the perfect way to treat yo’self.

Thanks to Taurean’s penchant for earthly pleasures, a chocolate-inspired nude seems like a perfectly suited shade for the season. After all, Tara Greene, the astrologer who helped the brand select the shades, says, “[A]ll the finer things in life are essential to beauty-loving bulls.”

They’re the definition of “down to earth” as they’re known to be generous, dependable, ambitious, practical, independent, and reliable — basically, they’re the kind of people you always want to have in your support system. So it’s no wonder why Internet baes like Dwayne “The Rock” JohnsonChanning Tatum, Dev Patel, Megan FoxHenry Cavill, Rosario Dawson, and many more give us heart eyes.If you’re looking for one of your own, Greene says you can “find them running a florist shop, decorating and re-decorating their stylish abodes, or whipping up a delish new dish.” Yum!

Don’t expect this sultry nude to stick to shelves for long since Taureans love to treat themselves though makeup mavens will likely snap up this nude since it works for a slew of skin tones. With the shades sticking close to the signs’ most significant aspects, I expect to see something light and slightly shimmery for the airy Gemini in the next few weeks, but I also wouldn’t be surprised to see a shade that’s totally out-there, as the sign is known to do the unexpected (we’re looking at you Kanye!). We’ll just have to wait and see!

Beauty, Makeup

Show Your Stash: Susie Wang’s All-Natural Beauty Routine and Much More

Photo courtesy of Susie Wang.

I know I’m not the only one curious about celebs and influencers’ favorite beauty buys as well as who and what shape their view of beauty in the biz.

I’ve always believed in happy accidents — you know, those seemingly innocuous events that become the catalyst for something bigger, something that sets you on a completely different path from what you originally thought. It could be a product with an unexpected benefit or (unfortunately) a bad reaction or a beauty look that you might’ve questioned while you played but makes a splash on social media (or IRL). That’s essentially what happened to Susie Wang, founder and chief creative officer of 100% PURE. She famously purchased a Vitamin C serum when she was a freshman at UC Berkeley that oxidized, lost its potency, and converted to free radicals — the very thing the serum was meant to prevent!

It set her on the path to several patents to help stabilize those vitamins to prevent that oxidation from occurring, which led to a slew of job offers from a number of beauty brands. But it also led to another happy accident when she knocked over a chemical that corroded the table she was working off of and was meant to be part of an eye cream! The incident not only pushed her to look into product development practices and eventually launch the brand. The brand has become an authority when it comes to natural beauty, thanks to its effective plant-based formulations, like their fruit-based color cosmetics, but also its cruelty-free commitment. Plus it’s even received a dose of star power thanks to the likes of Big Little Lies’ Shailene Woodley (I can hardly wait for season two, can you?!).

I’ve already fallen in love with the brand’s new Tomato Lycopene SPF 20 Moisturizer that offers a physical blocker without the same grey cast that I’ve experienced with other formulas. KillaCrystal also introduced me to their natural base and top coat polishes! And after getting a chance to chat with Wang to learn more about her beauty journey and her brand’s latest array of innovations, I had to ask her to be the latest to show her stash. Not only to help everyone clean up their act (hey, it’s Earth Month, after all) but also to discover the people who inspire her (and 100% Pure’s) purpose and swipe a few of her natural beauty secrets.

On her approach to style: “My approach to beauty is all about healthy, glowing skin and minimal makeup. My fashion style is very casual, classic and easy. I’m pretty low maintenance but still prefer mostly high-quality products.”

On her idols: “I don’t necessarily have any beauty idols; however, I have a huge passion for helping animals, which is why 100% Pure is entirely cruelty-free, and I’m inspired by women who are doing great things for animal rights. For example, I’m a big fan of Ingrid Newkirk, the founder of PETA. I also admire a woman named Yang XiaoYun who rescues dogs from the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China.”

On her first beauty memory: “My first beauty memory was wanting to buy a vitamin C serum so desperately that I skipped eating lunch for a week to buy it; however, once I did, the vitamin C serum oxidized. This was so disappointing but inspired me to figure out how to stabilize vitamins from oxidizing in skincare. My patent for this is what launched my career in the beauty industry.”

Photo: lola lenska via Pinterest

On her first beauty buy:“I bought my first beauty item when I was five years old, and it was a Rachel Perry strawberry lip balm. I was a child so I loved the fruit scent.”

On the best beauty advice she’s received: “Apply facial oil on damp skin to increase absorption.”

On her favorite beauty tip to share: “Visit steam rooms frequently and apply a facial mask while in the steam sauna.”

On her favorite beauty buys of 2018 (so far): “My favorite beauty buy has been the 100% Pure Retinol Restorative Overnight Balm. It gives me intense age correction plus deep moisture. We also have two great products coming out this month that I’m excited about — a purifying Charcoal Clay Cleanser and Tomato Lycopene SPF 20 Moisturizer.”

Check out Susie’s favorite beauty buys below:

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Beauty, Fashion, Makeup

Puma Partners With MAC For Makeup-Matching Sneakers

Lucy Hale’s known for making monochromatic magic by matching her heels to her lipstick whenever she steps out, but MAC is making it easy to pull off the look yourself by partnering with Puma.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the footwear giant’s signature suede sneaker, the brands have come together for a capsule collection of shoe hues based on MAC’s most beloved lipstick shades. Yup, that’s right — you can now rock kicks in the coral-red Lady Danger, the peach-beige Crème d’Nude, or the deep burgundy SinVogue says the color-matched kicks will be available for purchase exclusively in the U.S. at puma.com starting May 17th with each pair going for $90.

The beauty brand has always had collaborations at its core, with curated collections from our favorite stars, movies, and more dropping on a regular basis. Not to mention its annual celebrity partnerships for its Viva Glam Lipstick, whose full proceeds benefit women, men and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. But regardless, all of the previous partnerships have been mostly confined to the beauty counter, so this collection is certain to shake things up. As Elle noted, the brand team-up was teased back in November with MAC captioning the sneak peek snapshot on Instagram with: “Your favorite hues take a big step in a whole new direction.”

I can easily see Hale herself or her stylist snapping up all three styles to pair with their respective lip shades for her next red carpet event. But she won’t be the only one, as plenty of beauty buffs (like myself) and streetwear all stars clamoring for the collection. So be sure to set your alarms early so you don’t miss out! In the meantime, head over to either Elle or Vogue to get a closer look at the upcoming collection and choose your favorite color. Which one(s) are you planning to pick up? Let me know in the comments below!

Beauty, Makeup

Here’s How To Get Your Hands on Free Too Faced Mascara Today!

Photo via TooFaced.com

If Beyoncé’s veritable takeover of Coachella hasn’t prompted you to try a flurry of glitter-encrusted festival looks, a new deal from Too Faced just might. And don’t worry; you won’t even to have to leave home to snag it.

According to the brand’s site, when you spend $55 or more, “the ultimate mascara & remover kit” will automatically be added to your cart. The kit includes the ever-popular and slightly scandalous Better Than Sex Mascara as well as its waterproof counterpart for lashes that look long, lush, and lust-worthy. But that’s not all, as the kit also contains the brand’s Mascara Melt Off, an oil-based formula to remove even the strongest waterproof formula and infused with Rice Extract and Green Tea to condition and protect lashes from irritation when you take off your makeup at the end of the day. Plus the mini-sizes make it super easy to touch up — or take it all off —  on the go!

Since there’s no word when the offer will end, according to HYPEBAE, now’s the time to stock up on our spring beauty arsenals. After all, scoring a plethora of products that would normally cost $63 (for the full-sized version) is a damn good deal to snap up while you can!

Let me know if you manage to snatch one of up for yourselves in the comments below or tag me on Insta!

Beauty, Makeup

Show Your Stash: Sallia Goldstein’s Travel-Sized Beauty Treasures and More

Courtesy of Sallia Goldstein.

I know I’m not the only one curious about celebs and influencers’ favorite beauty buys as well as who and what shape their view of beauty in the biz. 

Social media has totally transformed how we make and consume art. Whether your media of choice are inks and oils, shadows and glosses, or a plethora of pixels, there is a slew of platforms designed to showcase the works of novices and professionals alike. While Instagram has become a home for personal style bloggers and YouTube has become a haven for beauty influencers, Snapchat has become the app of choice for a slew of artists to show off their skills, interact directly with their fans, and even Snapchat storytellers by creating brand-sponsored doodles. In fact, it was a brand sponsorship that led me to meet Sallia Goldstein, aka the Bill Nye of Snapchat.

I had learned about the engineer-turned-Snapchat artist after she was quoted in a Refinery29 article on the platform’s budding artist community, in which she uses the platform to not post her art but also educate followers through some science-based stories as well. Plus, she recently branched out into animation (I still can’t get over the cute little corgis she shared earlier this year). But I got to meet her face to face when she partnered with Twentieth Century Fox to cover the premiere of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and post doodles featuring the stars straight from the red carpet. We quickly became friends, bonding over our appreciation of great concerts but also of beauty. I even helped Goldstein quickly curate a slew of amazing drugstore beauty buys during one of her recent trips to the Big Apple!

With Goldstein gearing up for Coachella this weekend (so jeal!), I wanted to discover what she packs in her bag for big trips like the upcoming music festival, how her fellow artists inspire her style, and the one palette she can’t get enough of.

Courtesy of Sallia Goldstein.

On her approach to beauty and style: “I feel like I normally have terrible style, but I strive to be a mix of Babs Tarr and Hayley Kiyoko. Recently I’ve been trying to go for @Zephanijong eyeshadow look for going out. Overall, I guess I’m consistent: Blond hair, jacket, and strong eyes. Baggy on top and tight on [the] bottom.”

On her beauty idols: “I used to have the biggest crush on Shay Mitchell in high school. I had a few blond streaks in my hair. I was on swim, so I was constantly tan. I wore a lot of shorts and shirts since it doesn’t get too cold in SoCal. Plus, it’s easy to strip for when you get into the pool.

“These days, thanks to social media, I can pick from a variety of beauty gurus and celebs. I love drawing inspiration from ‘celesbians’ (celebrity lesbians) on Instagram. They have this ‘I’m comfortable but I’m still fly’ thing going on that’s like my stylistic white whale. They always wear hats, some kind of fitted jeans/pants that look like they’ve gone through a food processor, and a pocket tee of some kind. Also, I’ll always idolize Babs Tarr.”

Babs Tarr Photo via @babstarr on Instagram

On her first beauty memory: “My mom was a fashion designer, so she’d always bring home scraps of polyester fabric in all kinds of ridiculous, bright colors. My sister and I would wrap ourselves them and pretend we were wizards.”

On her first beauty buy: “Throughout high school, I would always try on sample makeup at Sephora with my friends and walk out. I wasn’t really a makeup person in high school. My first distinct memory of purchasing makeup was my first week in college. You can’t really go to your local Sephora, throw on some samples, and walk out. That first week, in one trip, I went to a Sephora and just bought an entire makeup routine. Foundation, concealer, bronzer, eyeshadow, everything. I spent a decent amount of money.”

On the best beauty advice she’s received: “I don’t know if this counts, but I’m a fan of Roald Dahl’s advice on beauty: ‘A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.’”

On her favorite beauty tip to share: “Put tape (like scotch tape) from the corner of your eye to just below the end of the eyebrow. It stencils in this sharp line that makes your eyeshadow look like it was done by a pro.

“Application matters. Good makeup can look like crap on your face throughout the day if you don’t use the proper application tools like brushes or sponges. Brushes always outlive palettes and creams, and you don’t have to splurge on them.”

On her favorite beauty buys of 2018, so far: “Last year I backpacked through Europe on a nimble makeup kit. The clutch was an Hourglass foundation stick. It was small, travel size. I cannot stress how much I used it and how well it got the job done. I also got the Anastasia Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette for my birthday. I used to not care about eyeshadow, [but] the AMR pallette changed that. It’s kind of incredible how many looks you can get with one palette. I can gush for paragraphs on how much I love the AMR palette.”

Check out Sallia’s clutch beauty buys below!

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Beauty, Body

#OnMyVanity: Degree UltraClear Black + White Pure Clean Dry Spray

Disclosure: I receive a slew of samples, and when I find something I like, I can’t wait to tell you all about it! In this case, I received a sample of this from the brand for consideration, but the opinions are all my own.

It never fails. If the temperature is remotely above freezing, I tend to sweat at the drop of a hat, something that many plus-size people deal. It’s the reason why blowout season for me starts around the same time as the holiday season and usually ends before Easter. But even with chillier temperatures in the forecasts, the layering required to keep warm tends to leave me sweating in places other than my pits.

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Beauty, Makeup

Sneak a Peek at Erdem for NARS’s Strange Flowers Collection

Photo courtesy of NARS Cosmetics.

Sure with snow and chilly temperatures in our forecasts, it’s hard to believe that it’s technically spring. But Erdem and NARS already have their sights on summer by shaking up the season with a garden of strange flowers.

I know what you’re thinking — Florals? How Groundbreaking. But for a season synonymous with beach babes and mermaids, wandering through NARS’s garden of delights is more of a dreamy experience thanks to Erdem’s signature dark romance. So you know this isn’t your average flower patch with a barrage of what the brand calls “demure and daring” hues for eyes, lips, and cheeks — all wrapped in . “It was really interesting to explore my aesthetic in collaboration with NARS and see how far we could push different elements through color and product,” Erdem said when the collection made its runway debut. “It was fascinating to develop new pigments and palettes as well as the cosmetics themselves.”

There’s not one but two eye palettes to play with that provides buildable coverage across your lids, including the Fleur Fatale, which comes with softer hues suited for everyday wear, and the Night Garden, which delivers a serious dose of drama for those nights on the town. Fans of the brand’s iconic Multiples will likely fall head over heels for Erdem’s icy, pink-toned take on a highlighting pencil. Plus there’s the addition of fresh products for the brand like blotting papers, which are a must for anyone who battles against serious shine during the warmer months of the years. There’s also the new lip powder palette that allows for makeup mavens test-drive different textures and even customize their own color when paired with the lush array of lipsticks that provide plenty of pigment, no matter how subtle or bold the shade you snap up.

And you won’t have to wait much longer to snatch these fresh floral-inspired finds, as the collection will be available at NARS Boutiques and NARSCosmetics.com starting on April 12th before hitting the shelves of Sephora on the 30th. But keep in mind that only the Voodoo Lily, Wild Flower, and Larskpur lipstick shades will be available there, so you might want to set your shopping alerts for early on the 12th if you’re looking to complete the collection.

Want to get up close and personal with these pretty pieces? Check out the full collection below!

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Beauty, Makeup

Jennifer Lopez Links Up With Inglot for a Makeup Collection!

Photo: Inglot via Allure.com.

The rumors are true — Jennifer Lopez is staging a BIG beauty counter comeback this year!

The star has partnered with the beauty brand Inglot to launch not only the bronzer that her makeup artist Scott Barnes had shared weeks ago on social media but also 69 additional SKUs guaranteed to help makeup mavens achieve that iconic J.Lo glow. And I can’t wait!

According to Allure, complexion, eye, lip, and even nail products (I mean, have you seen her Tom Bachik-crafted manicures?!) will comprise the collection with major must-haves like the Livin’ The Highlight, a champagne-colored loose-powder illuminator that comes with a fuzzy puff applicator, and The LipGlossy. Plus the brand’s Freedom System will be incorporated in the collab with a refillable palette that can you can add the collection’s five bespoke blushes, two highlighter trios, and 20 eyeshadows to totally customize it to your liking. And Huffington Post says that the products will start at $8.50 and go up to $49.

And we won’t have wait long to get our hands on the cool collab either, as Inglot noted on its Instagram on Thursday that the collection is slated to hit JenniferLopezInglot.com and InglotCosmetics.com on April 26th.

But I feel like this could be just the start of Lopez’s beauty empire. While she’s had previous experience from the fragrance perspective, the collab is likely a way for her to test the market and see if striking out on her own would work. After all, it worked for Rihanna, who had not only had fragrance as her foundation but also collaborated with a big beauty brand before developing Fenty. The Bad Gal served up not just one but three wildly successful collections with MAC back in 2013, including her ubiquitous Riri Woo lipstick (aka the proto Mattemoiselle Lipstick) that caused riots at merch tables during her Diamonds tour. So I’m sure they’ll be keeping a close eye on how successful these launches will be.

Now, all we need are a few sneak peeks at the products and packaging to tide us over until the end of the month. In fact, I’ve already signed up for the email list and set up notifications from @TrendMood1 just in case!

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