lips

Do You Wear Too Much Makeup to Work?

November 28, 2011 at 9:49 am
By April Franzino

Wearing makeup makes you appear more competent, trustworthy and likable, a recent study showed, but you may want to tone it down at the office: More than a third of bosses think their female employees and colleagues wear too much makeup, an officebroker.com poll of 500 managers found. The main culprits: bright lips, overdone eyes and heavy blush.  As women who work in beauty media, we believe that wearing makeup— and yes, even exploring trends and bolder looks— is part of our job, but every industry has different standards.

Tell us: How much makeup do you usually wear to work? Would you adjust how much you apply? Why or why not?

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Hot Rocks

October 17, 2011 at 4:22 pm
By April Franzino

Makeup shaped into pretty pebbles and pearls has been popping up everywhere recently—and it’s easy to see why. Not only do these faintly shimmery bronzer, blush, and highlighting powders give cheeks a gorgeous glow when applied with a brush swirled over the multi-tonal pigments, but they can also multitask. We’ve experimented with using individual beads as eye shadow, lip color (topped with gloss or balm), and luminizer on the inner corners of eyes, under the brows, and on the cupid’s bow. They’re just plain fun to use, like makeup should be! Here, a selection of showstopping spheres:

Pür Minerals Pür Rocks

Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Correcting Pebbles

The Body Shop Brush-On Beads

Guerlain Meteorites Pearls

 Tell us: Have you played with pebble-shaped makeup? If so, how did you use them and what did you think?

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Favorite Find Friday: VMV Hypoallergenics Armada Moisturising Protective Lip Balm SPF 60+

September 9, 2011 at 9:56 am
By Eleanor Langston

When prepping for my 12-day trip to Italy over Labor Day, I surprised myself and did the unthinkable– I fit all of my clothes, shoes and beauty products into a CARRY-ON. My husband’s jaw dropped when I rolled out my kid-sized suitcase. Space was definitely at a premium, but I luckily included my MVP (most valuable product) of the vacay: VMV Hypoallergenics Armada Moisturising Protective Lip Balm SPF 60+. The texture is ideal– not too oily, but not goopy either. One swipe kept my lips hydrated all day, and I love that it has such a high SPF, since the skin on your lips is extremely thin and sensitive to damage. It’s pricey, but a little goes a long way, so one tube will last you months. An added bonus: It doesn’t have any shimmer in it, so I got my husband hooked on it too.

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Our Meet & Greet with CoverGirl Taylor Swift!

July 25, 2011 at 10:01 am
By April Franzino

Last week, we had the privilege of meeting CoverGirl Taylor Swift before her first Speak Now World Tour show in Newark, New Jersey. Taylor was one of the sweetest celebrities we’ve ever met, complimenting our outfits when we met her, giving big hugs, and jumping up with excitement when we recognized she was wearing her new fragrance, out in late fall. We found out that her vibrant red lip came courtesy of CoverGirl Lip Perfection Lipstick in Hot—”The brightest shade they have!” On her nails, she sported a creamy seafoam green shade, similar to Essie Nail Polish in Mint Candy Apple. Check out the photo of my sister, Taylor, and I above—the night was definitely a dream come true!

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Something to Smile About

July 5, 2011 at 10:46 am
By Fitness Magazine

A recent study by Orbit Complete found that 69% of people find women more attractive when they smile than when they are wearing makeup, and women generally smile more than men.

We were born to smile…literally: Babies start smiling in their sleep as newborns!

Young or old, no one wants a parched-looking pucker. Keep your lips moisturized this season with the lip products that make me smile:

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Swivel Stick with Vitamin E: This moisturizer to soothe cracked lips may look like a glue stick, but it’s far from sticky—we keep it on our nightstand and smooth it on before snoozing.

EOS Lip Balm Smooth Sphere: This fun-to-use orb is addictive and tastes slightly sweet.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment: The combination of hydration, SPF and brown sugar is almost kissable itself!

Etsy Bare Balm: This can be applied with your finger and conveniently fits in your wallet or pocket.

What’s the lip product you can’t live without?

—By Amanda Downs, beauty intern

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Favorite Find Friday: Crabtree & Evelyn Vanilla Créme Brûlée Lip Butter

April 29, 2011 at 11:44 am
By April Franzino

You might not be able to have a bite of the royal wedding cake, but you can slick on storied British brand Crabtree & Evelyn’s delectable Vanilla Créme Brûlée Lip Butter. The extra creamy shea-butter based formula tastes and smells true-to-life, like a decadent dessert—minus the calories!—and leaves behind just a hint of sheen. A treat truly fit for a princess!

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Bright On!

March 30, 2011 at 11:27 am
By Fitness Magazine

FAIR: You can pull off a bright pink, such as cult classic NARS Semi-Matte Lipstick in Schiap.

MEDIUM/OLIVE: Go for a juicy tangerine or coral hue like Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture in (13) Le Orange.

DARK: Choose a brown-based brick red such as Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Burnt Red.

Most important of all: Find a hue you truly love, and you’ll have the confidence to rock it. And remember to turn down the volume on the rest of your face (read: keep your eye and face makeup neutral), since you want your lips to be the star. What’s your favorite bold lip look?

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Getaway Gorgeous

February 15, 2011 at 6:41 am
By Fitness Magazine

I don’t know about you, but all of this snow has me daydreaming about my spring vacation—which is now only a month away! Beach fantasizing has quickly evolved into planning out my beauty essentials for the perfect beachy look: Think small, packable items that pack a big beauty punch. Read on for the products I’m lusting after for the big trip, and steal some ideas for your vacation—or staycation!

Avoid a hairy situation. After a day at the beach, my nicely straightened hair usually expands in size—hello, frizz!—until I’m virtually unrecognizable to my friends. If you’re like me and the sun/sand/salt water mixture leaves your hair in a knot, a hair moisturizer is the only option. I’ll be packing Shu Uemura Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Oil to keep my hair hydrated (and fuzz at bay), repair damage and shield my strands from UV rays.

Get your bronze on. Fake a believable getaway glow with this shimmery little gem:  Smashbox Artificial Light Luminizing Lotion lends sun-kissed radiance while keeping my face moisturized. It’s not full-on bronze, so it works on winter-pale skin.

Get eye-catching color. For a pop of color on top of my newly glowing skin, I’ll be packing  Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm. This magic crayon gives an effortless, fun vacation look while also keeping lips soft with mango and shea butters.

Avoid runoff. This trip, I won’t let annoying raccoon eyes put a damper on my ocean dips. I’ll be sticking with super-volumizing Yves Saint Laurent Everlong Waterproof Mascara to prevent the runoff. Bon voyage!

—By Lindsay Richardson, Beauty Intern

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Sweet Lips

February 10, 2011 at 10:12 am
By Fitness Magazine

During the chilly months, our lips have to endure the harsh weather right along with the rest of our body. They get chapped, dry and flaky if we don’t give them the love and care they deserve. Fresh Brown Sugar Lip Polish is a great little treat to gently buff away flakes, a necessary step before sporting that vibrant red or pink lip for Valentine’s Day. Sugar is a natural antiseptic, and this product was concocted without parabens, sulfates, and synthetic dyes—so it gently exfoliates for smooth, kissable lips. Flip to our “Bliss Out” feature on page 50 of the March issue (on newsstands next week) for a DIY lip scrub recipe!

—By Melissa Dressing, contributing blogger

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Prettifying Picks to Fall in Love With

February 1, 2011 at 6:58 am
By Fitness Magazine

Many women would be offended if their beau gave them makeup for Valentine’s Day. I can just hear the mental dialogue: “Does he think I’m ugly?”, “Is he not attracted to me?”, “Have I let myself go?” However, I would personally love a little V-Day pick me up for my makeup bag.  After all, isn’t Valentine’s the one day of the year a girl gets to be pampered and treated like a goddess? Here are the beauty buys that are making my heart go pitter-patter this Valentine’s season:

MAC Cosmetics consistently manages to put out stunning holiday collections—and their Tough Love line for Valentine’s Day is no exception.  We’ve got it bad for the Lipstick in Girl About Town, above.

In the spirit of indulgence, we’re eager to get our hands on this adorable NARS Forever Yours Limited Edition Eye, Lip & Illuminator Set.  The sweet little trio includes a new liquid highlighter, pink lip gloss and eye shadow pencil.

What’s Valentine’s Day with out a little seduction? Every girl needs a special scent to get the night going. On my wish list is rose-tinged Chloe Eau de Parfum Spray.

Nobody wants to be dry and scaly on V-Day. Kiss Me with Kiehl’s is my pick to ensure silky skin for the big night! The set includes the super-delicious, sweet-scented Soy Milk & Honey Body Polish.

In lieu of the candy hearts and chocolate covered what-have-you, I’m asking for a different kind of sugar this year. Butter London has a bold nail color foursome called I Want Candy that will make your heart skip a beat.

By Lindsay Richardson, beauty intern

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