BeautyBlog64 - Make Up 101 - Basic Introduction

Hey Lovlies,

So a friend of mine is visiting the States very soon and she asked for an overview and some tips for buying a little bit of everything. I thought it was a good idea to give you guys a small intro/overview of what to look for make up and skin care-wise if you're starting out or looking to try some new products but don't know where to start.

Note: This is targeted towards shopping in the U.S. but some/most products are also available in Denmark or online!

Make up:

Face primer:
Laura Mercier has a great face primer - in many different versions according to your skin type! If you wanna give it a go then I suggest giving her flawless face kit a try - includes the must-talked about tinted moisturizer and other goodies.

Foundation:
Liquid foundation-wise I would suggest the MakeUpForever HD Foundation or their MatVelvet+, if your skin is combination/oily. However, this is a 35-40 dollar foundation so if you want to go for a cheaper alternative go to your local drugstore for the Revlon Colorstay or Photo Ready foundation! The Colorstay gives great coverage and the PhotoReady gives a flawless finish - their version of the MUFE HD foundation AND the price is around 10 dollars!

Powder:
I only use a setting powder - and I would suggest the MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural - get shade-matched at your MAC counter or possibly the MUFE HD Microfinish Powder Many drugstore brands have great powders as well!

Bronzer/Blush:
Benefit's Hoola bronzer or Coralista blush are very popular. If you want to save money then go to MAC for a great color selection or even NYX for a 5 dollar blush. For creme blush the N.Y.C. blushable creme sticks have been getting a lot of well-deserved hype this summer. It's only like 3 dollars at the drugstore! N.Y.C. also has a great bronzer in Sunny for around 3 dollars!

For blush and bronzer a lot of people also love Nars products. They are pretty expensive but really good. Their blush/bronzer combo in Orgasm/Laguna is widely popular.


Eyeshadow primer:
Makes your eyeshadow last all day - I adore the Too Faced Shadow Insurance but a lot of beauty gurus swear by the Urban Decay Primer Potion.

Eyeshadow:
I love MAC shadows. If you go to a MAC store/counter you can buy a palette and choose four colors and make your own combo! Great idea!

I you are in the U.S. now or will be going soon then check out Urban Decay's amazing new limited edition Naked Palette

BUT eyeshadows are just as good if you get them at the drugstore - and cheap! Look for Maybelline quads in Expert Wear Eye Shadow Quads or Stylish Smokes quads.


CoverGirl Eye Enhancer Kits are also popular as are Revlon!

The difference in price from Sephora/department stores to drugstore ranges from 10-20+ dollars so it is definetely worth looking at the drugstore brands!

Eyeliner:
I just use anything black! I like Almay, MAC and Urban Decay.

Mascara:
My HOLY grail is the CoverGirl Lash Blast in water proof. I am waiting to try the new version called Fusion! (Price app. 7 dollars!)

There are of course loads of other brands to take a look at. First high end ones!

There is a lot of rave about the YSL Faux Cils - but it is 30 dollars!

There us also the Make Up Forever Smokey Lash - I am contemplating trying this one and breaking my two year + dedication to CoverGirl!
Benefit Cosmetics BADgal Lash har også fået mange positive omtaler på YT. http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P49014&categoryId=S10510&shouldPaginate=true

Dior Show - always a favorite - a classic! But I ditched it because it was not in waterproof - it is now so I might give it a new try as well!

Don't like MAC mascaras! So nothing on them!

Drugstore mascaras are a lot cheaper and many of them just as good from what I hear. Here are some of the ones that are getting good reviews:

The Colossal Volum' Express by Maybelline
Lash Stiletto, Sexy Curves Mascara and The Max Volume by Rimmel
Double Extended by L'Oreal - one of my YouTube faves, Kandee Johnson loves this! I tried it out and didn't like it (should have tried a waterproof I guess) Now it lives w my friend Helle;)
Telescopic Mascara, Voluminous and Volume Collagen Mascaras by L'Oreal
Define a Lash by Maybelline

All of these are given somewhat good reviews by loads of girls - and the occasional great guy!:) on YouTube.

Lipbalm:
Korres Lipbutters! My favorite one is Jasmin.
Drugstore balms include the L'oreal HIP Jelly Balms and this summer's hype, the EOS LipBalms - formed like little balls/eggs!

Lipgloss:
LOVE lipgloss but hate the stickiness! Therefore no MAC lip glosses except the CremeSheen Glass-no stickiness, only creamy consistency! Also love the NYX mega shines and Round lip glosses - and they are like 2-4 dollars! Also like the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss. Some of them are like the CremeSheen Glass and I want to try this summer's collection with Coral Reef, Peach Petal, Pink Pop and Lilac Pastelle!

Lipsticks:
NYX round lipsticks! app. 3 dollars! MAC is great for the color selection and formulas! app. 14 dollars. For drugstore lipstick look for Revlon Super Lustrous has so many different shades, app. 8 dollars, or their ColorBurst line! and Maybelline's Color Sensational line is also great!

Nails:
If you can find it I absolutely love OPI - app. 10. dollars a bottle. Essie! A classic and what you get at most nail salons along w OPI - app. 8 dollars.

Of course my first nail polish love Chanel!

For a slightly cheaper alternative check out ChinaGlaze - a lot of different colors - and their most famous one For Audrey /Something Blue - the Tiffany & Co color is everywhere;)

Remember the Top coat Dry fast favorite Seche Vite!

Next up is skin care!

Hope you found this helpful - please leave a comment w any thoughts, questions or such. If you need a website reference as to where to buy any of this from DK also let me know!

xoxo
msbeautyblogger!

BeautyBlog63-MakeUp Central Station: TEMPTALIA

Hi my lovelies,

I just wanted to share the love - if you're into make up and love any new collection or is looking for that specific thing from a previous collection or just wat to browse anything make up related this is the site for you:



www.temptalia.com

Temptalia is a wonderful website run by the lovely Christine Mielke. She's in her early 20s, live in California and she's a full-time student in a JD/MBA program, which is a combined graduate program for law and business. Temptalia began in October 2006 and besides covering everything and more on make up/beauty, Christine also has YouTube account - Temptalia where you can review swatches of the newest collection etc.

If you want to see her humongous make up collection then take a look here - the video was filmed a month ago!

Her blog covers a lot of ground. You can get inspiration for new looks, watch tutorials, check out the many looks Christine has done, read about recent and upcoming collections from all the big make up lines including MAC, Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Dolce & Gabana, Estee Lauder, Givenchy, Gurlain, Illamasqua, Lancome, Nars, Smashbox, Tarte and YSL.

Reviews etc. covers more than 150 make up brands

So what are you waiting for?

xoxo
msbeautyblogger

(temptalia.com)

BeautyBlog62-The best things come in small boxes...

Hi my lovelies,

Here I thought the only thing I had to look forward to was getting back into thesis-mode - but OH NO - how amazing it is to receive a small package in the mail with goodies - paid by me - sent by the most amazing friend Katrine, who is traveling around the U.S. this summer (note: she is just as amazing when she is back in Odense ;))

I had put together a small wish list for her and here are all the goodies I excitedly received today:

1) TRESemmé FreshStart Dry Shampoo Spray. I have heard so many great reviews of this, so I thought I'd give it a try. Never before have I ventured into the dry shampoos but there's a first for everything! I will do an updated blog soon w/ more detailed reviews of a lot of the things I've acquired over the last couple of months!



2) I am so exited to try this Revlon PhotoReady Foundation in 006 Medium Beige or 008 Golden Beige to see if it is as good as all the rave reviews claim! I will probably try to mix it with my ColorStay for a less shiny finish! Very exited about this!



3) I also got a back up of my favorite foundation primer by Laura Mercier - the oil free one that makes my make up last all day without melting off or smudging! Good stuff - I highly recommend this to anyone! (note: depending on you skin type there are different versions of this - my skin is combination/oily!)



4) My new favorite lip product is without a doubt the Korres Lipbutter in Jasmin. They were out of that but I got their LipSaverRoll with three amazing lip butters. This is the first lip balm that I can put on at night and then wake up with soft lips the next morning. My lips tend to dry out a lot during the night so thumbs up! The roll contains Mango (sheer peach), Guava (clear) and Pomegranate (sheer coral). Check out makeupbytiffanyd's review here: Tiffany's November Favorites



5) A new friend (Thanks Christina) recommended I try the BareMinerals (id) foundation. I've been kind of sceptical about trying mineral foundation since I've tried MAC's mineral foundation and others, which did not provide a very good coverage. However, Christina convinced me I would still see the same coverage, so here goes...I decided to get the 5-Piece-Starter-Kit in Medium Beige. It contains the Original SPF 15 Foundation, the Matte SPF 15 Foundation, an Original Mineral Veil, a Warmth All-Over Face Color and a Mini Full Flawless Face Brush. I will try it out over the next few days and let you know what I think in my collective review post!



6) I also got two back-ups of my favorite facial cleanser Cetaphil!



That was it! Thank you to Katrine, who was so nice to run around L.A. picking up things for me;)

So what do you think? Please leave a comment below and tell me about your latest beauty-buys, about what you'd like me to blog about or what kind of beauty products you want to try out!

xoxo
msbeautyblogger

(photos: tresemme.com, revlon.com, lauramercier.comsephora.com, cvs.com)

BeautyBlog61-Favorite beauty blogs!

Hey lovelies!

So this is a run-down of my favorite - aka must-read- beauty bloggers out there! I am always looking for new great blogs so please don't hesitate in suggesting new ones for me to take a peak at (thanks Zoe:)

On a daily basis I have to check out these blogs:

Mode med mere: Written by Maria - this great blog is a wonderful mixture of all things beauty, food and life-related! (written in Danish)

DulceCandy: Written by one of my favorite YouTube gurus DulceCandy - this blog is mostly a great photo-documentation of her wonderful and vivacious style! (Written in English)

2:55 En drømmeverden af sko - Written by Julia - this blog has the greatest wish-list posts and great outfit of the day shots;) (Written in Danish/English)

Daily Style Diary: A new fave of mine. Loving all Lynn does, wears and says! Her style is impecable and her updates many. Love it! (Written in Danish/English)

Snackface: Written by Kailey - we're both alum from OU (journalists) met her in the airport in Columbus Ohio and she told me about her food blog. I am loving every single post! They tend to focus on food but also touches upon life's ups and downs!

Kandee the make up artist - Written by Kandee Johnson - this is more than a beauty blog-this makes you feel so much better every time you read it! This is quite possibly the happiest place on earth! With blogs pertaining not only to beauty but life, love and happiness as well this blog often makes my day with her happy little posts!

What are your favorite beauty-blogs?

Please share them with me!

xoxo
msbeautyblogger

StyleRockie

BeautyBlog60-Korean Skin Care Laníege

Hi Lovelies,

In Korea I found the most amazing skin care line. I had done a bit of research before I left for Korea but I had no idea just HOW big skin care is in Korea.

Skin - clean, perfect and white! - is big in Korea. Walking around Myoeng-Dong - one of the best shopping areas in Seoul - every other store is a skin care store. Some of the biggest brands are The Face Shop, Skin Food, It's Skin, Nature Republic, Etude House and so many others.

All of them sell loads of stuff - make up, body lotions and so many skin care products! Face masks in numerous versions. I got several different kinds and I will go through all of that and the make up I got in a future post.

This post is dedicated to my new skin care system: Laneíge - "Snow" in French. Clear skin is the number 1 thing in Korea. Actually, the name snow is not a coincidence. A lot of the skin care products in Korea contain whitening stuff! White clear skin is IN in Korea. For me being tan is nice and staying out of the sun feels unnatural, however Korean women don't like the sun. They love sunscreen, sun hats, umbrellas and the shade! It's scary to see how many things contain whitening - even Nivea body lotion. But I guess it's like us Westernes loving the sun, self tanner, sun tanning beds (ewwwww) and just lazing around under the sun to get that sun-kissed tan.

Well, back to Laniegé. The skin care line is pretty high end compared to a lot of the other Korean skin care products. I spent around 100 US dollars on my basic products but it was so worth it!

Read more about the line here: www.laniege.com

The spokes person for Laneige is the hugely popular actress Song Hye Kyo.





I mean if I can get to look like her, then I'm hooked! :)

I got two products from the Basic Care line:

The Laneige Power Essential Skin Refiner Light (Combination Oily Skin) is my new toner. It is very light and has the most amazing scent. It has a soft flowery scent and leaves my skin feeling soft and clean.



I also got the Laneige Balancing Emulsion Light Lotion. The light weight formula with purifying and hydro balancing care leaves my skin feeling refresh and clear.



I use those two and my Clinique Dramatically Moisturizer in the morning.

At night I add one more step from the Water Bank line between the toner and emulsion:

The Water Bank Essence, which is a long-lasting moisture essence for smooth and clear skin texture! The essence is a deep functioning version.



Since I began this routine almost two weeks ago my skin has become a lot more hydrated. Also I wake up in the morning and my skin feels the same as it did when I had just washed and cleansed it.

I was so fortunate to be given a lot of Laneíge products as gifts, so I have loads of refills now and I will also be trying out the:

Water Bank Gel Cream, which is a gel-type moisture cream that soothes the skin with a cool, invigorating texture!



I was also given the Water Sleeping Pack_EX, which is a light gel-type texture provides intensive hydration, vitality, and brightening effect while restoring skin with deep relaxation. I have yet to try this but you basically apply it in a thin layer - it dries and you sleep with it. It is supposed to give a lot of moisture and work with the skin during the night. I can't wait to try this.



I also wanted to try the much talked about Laneige Strawberry Yoghurt Peeling Gel is a cellulose and enzyme peeling gel, which gently removes dead cell and impurities brining back clear and soft skin. I have yet to try this out as well but I will let you know what I think about it!



I also got the popular Laneige new UV protecting Sliding Pact, which lightly sildes and fits on my skin, effectively absorbing excess sebum to portray longlasting powdery skin. It mattifies my skin and has the nicest clean scent. I love it. I got it in Medium Beige.





I am so exited about my new products. The last year or so, ever since I definitively said goodbye to the Clinique soap and toner, I've been looking for a series to fit my skin. This works amazingly and it does not dry or irritate my skin. And the products not too expensive. The toner and lotion are around 25 US dollars each - the essence and the other things are more expensive though.

Hope you enjoyed this!

xoxo
msbeautyblogger

(photos: laneige.com, cherryxblossoms.files.wordpress.com)

BeautyBlog59 - Back in beauty business!

Hi my lovelies,

After 20 delicious and much needed vacation days I'm back!!

I started out spending four fantastic days in Rome. It was my first time there and I loved the city, the architecture and the sun!

Initially, I was saving my money for my next destination (Seoul, South Korea) but I couldn't resist getting a few things including a small golden cross at the Vatican. I also ventured out onto Via del Corsa - aka THE shopping street, where I found a Sephora and a Lush.

Unfortunately, the Sephora did not carry Nars, which I was pretty keen on trying out so I went for Make Up For Ever instead. Since my skin is combination/oily I was advised not to go for the ever so popular MUFE HD Invisible Cover Foundation. Instead I bought the Mat Velvet + Foundation. I've only had the opportunity to try it out a few times but so far I like it! It does seem to give my face a mat finish, which I love - however I don't think the coverage is as good as my preferred foundation: Revlon ColorStay.



I also went into Lush where I spent the majority of my time. I love it there. All the soaps, face products and funny bath-things. I only got four things in there.

I wanted to try Dark Angels skin exfoliant. On Lush's own website Dark Angels are described like this: "Dark and tough, this one doesn't mess about. It's a black, squidgy scrub made with charcoal to absorb oils and exfoliate your skin. Nutritious avocado oil softens, glycerine keeps the moisture in and black sugar scrubs away." I already love it. I used it daily in Korea and it was wonderful for deep cleaning my face after long busy days, where my skin would be dirty from all the activity and all the sweating! (Korea was HOT HOT HOT with even more humidity to go with it!)



I also bought my first bubble bar called Creamy Candy Bubble Bar. I don't have a bath tub so I use it for the water I soak my tired feet in once a week;) It smells so good! So sweet like candy and it turns the water into a sea of pink bubbles!



I also decided to give the Sugar Scrub a try. I have yet to try it out but here is what the website says: "Tough on cellulite, kind to skin. Our Sugar Scrub is hard, but a bit of a sweetie. Its no nonsense stance stimulates activity and tackles cellulite with fennel and ginger. Calming lavender has a balancing effect and encourages healthier skin." I mean who wouldn't want to give this a try!?



In the end I decided not to get a lot of soap since I still have some left from last time I got a shipment from Lush in December. But I had to get one little piece and I picked the Triple-citrus cleanser. According to Lush: "Lemslip is our creamiest, dreamiest lemon shower soap, but this is only one of the reasons why it's a best-seller. It has antimicrobial lemon, lime and sweet wild orange to clear up spots all over a body that gets a bit oily now and again" and I really love everything lemon scented. It just smells clean and summery!



This was what I got beauty-wise in Italy. I flew straight from Rome to Korea where I just returned from after 16 great days! Experience and shopping-wise.

Upcoming blog-posts:
-Korean Skin Care Products
-Haul - beauty products
-Korean Fashion and Haul

TTYL,
msbeautyblogger

(photos: sephora.com, lush.com, a248.g.akamai.net,4.bp.blogspot.com)