Product Review: ALMAY intense i-color powder shadow and smoky-i kit

by Inna Grinblat of Glamorized Skin

ALMAY For You?

Today, I would like to bring to your attention the eye complementing eyeshadows from ALMAY. Not that long ago ALMAY has revamped their whole make up line by changing their marketing strategy, product quality and presentation. A decade or so ago this line mainly targeted women in their late 20s+. It was not considered “cool” by the younger generation. However, now ALMAY seems to appeal to most women, from teenagers to mature ladies. The TV commercials and magazine ads about ALMAY's eyeshadows that complement different eye colors made me go to my neighborhood drugstore to check them out.

The Offer:

There are two types of eyeshadow palettes they are offering: ALMAY intense i-color powder shadow and ALMAY intense i-color smoky-i kit eyeshadow. Both promise to brighten your eyes and intensify your eye color. Additionally, the smoky kit promises to give you those smokey eyes Kate Hudson is showing off in all of the pictures and TV ads for ALMAY. In my opinion, some of the company's choices for several eye colors are a bit strange. In our Eyes That Sparkle article, we note that the best way to intensify your eye color is to apply a shade that is opposite your eye color on the Color Wheel. However, ALMAY offers you a blue colored eyeshadow (smoky eye kit) for blue eyes. The picture above is a good example of what would happen when blue eyeshadow is used on blue eyes. Although the eyeshadows look very nice and creative on the model, the overall look does not intensify the eye color. Instead the eye color is overshadowed by the eyeshadow shades. Therefore, I would still recommend following our advice about which shade would complement your eye color best. If you wanted to try ALMAY'S palettes and you have blue eyes, try the colors suggested for brown eyes (warm, sparkly brown, dark violet and light tan) or hazel eyes (deep silver, warm purple and light tan).

What About Quality?

In terms of quality, these eyeshadows live up to their claims. These are powdery, smooth, and blend easily. They go on soft and stay on for quiet some time without fading or flaking (assuming you have prepped your eyelids in advance). Smoky eye kits do not have a more intense color than powder shadow palettes. Colors from both types of palettes can be worn every day to work or school. If you want to achieve a smoky, deep color look, you would have to apply several coats and an eyeliner.

Glamorized Skin Approved!

Overall, I would recommend these trios for everyone who wants to spend less time choosing different colors in the morning. Each palette contains all you need to achieve a completed look – there is a medium color for application on the lid, a darker color that is applied in the crease and a light color that is used for highlighting and blending everything nicely. If you are going for a smoky eye effect, you should apply the darker color above your lash line up to the crease, the medium color at the crease and the light color right below your brows and to blend everything.

If you want to hear more about application techniques for these eyeshadows or which colors would truly complement your eye color, ask your questions and I will be happy to help.

SPRING CLEANING FOR YOUR MAKE UP CASE? ABSOLUTELY!

by Olga Tsiba of Glamorized Skin

We know that throwing away our precious make up is not easy. You paid money for it, you had it for years and it might not even smell bad. After all, there is rarely an expiration date on those containers. However, bacterial contamination is a reality even for make up products. You stick your fingers or a sponge into your foundation and expose everything to air every time you open a lipstick or a mascara. Oils in many lipsticks, foundations and other products go rancid after 2 years. Since spring cleaning will be on your mind anyway, why not take a few minutes to go through your make up bag?

The lifetime of different products after opening the container is generally as follows:


Mascara - 4 to 6 months
Liquid Eyeliner - 4 to 6 months
Liquid Foundations - 6 months
Moisturizers (tinted or not) - 6 months
Powders (loose or compact) - 2 to 3 years
Eyeshadows - 2 to 3 years
Blushes - 2 to 3 years
Lipsticks and lipglosses - 2 to 3 years
Lip and eyeliner pencils - 2 to 3 years

However,  I will admit that I have eyeshadows, blushes and other beauty products that are older than their recommended lifetime. Some people argue that the storage guidelines are created by cosmetic companies to make you buy their products more often. My rule of thumb is to dispose of products that directly touch my face or products that I may touch directly with my hands within given time frame. I throw mascara out within four to six months mostly because it touches my eye lids directly with the applicator. In the end, our faces and hands are the sources of bacteria that contaminate cosmetics. A few pimples is one thing, but an eye infection is a much more serious condition. So, I choose not to take my chances with an old mascara. Besides that, it dries out quickly anyway! If I use sponges for foundation, which again touch my face directly, I throw them out or wash them after every use. For everything else, I use common sense to make a decision about tossing or keeping. If the product's color or consistency changes, I will throw it out. If it smells bad (think rancid oil smell), off to the trash it goes.  If it irritates my skin or eyes, I part with it and never miss it.

Other General Tips:

1. If you forgot your make up case in your car under the sun for the entire day, it will create an environment for bacterial growth. As a rule of thumb, avoid storing make up in temperatures above 85F (29C).

2. Do not share make up with friends unless you are ready to sanitize it with rubbing alcohol right after. As nice as it is to share, you will also be sharing bacteria.

3. Be a neatfreak:
       - Always wash your hands before make up application.
       - Wipe your containers often and wash your brushes at  
          least once a week. 
       - Clean your make up cases.
       -  If your solid concealers or lipsticks get dirty or have not 
          been used in a very long time, clean them with a paper 
          towel dipped into rubbing alcohol; dry eye shadows and 
          powders can be cleaned with a dry paper towel.

To summarize, keep your make up products and tools clean and fresh. They will reward you with GLAMORIZED SKIN!

Interested in learning what trends await you this summer? Check out our Top 5 Summer 2011 Makeup Trends.


Sources:
Beauty Bible by Paula Begoun; Cosmeticscop.com; The great cosmetics con: Are sell by dates there to protect your health or make you buy more? by Claire Coleman

Are You Ready? Top 5 Summer 2011 Make Up Trends

SPRING is finally here! The sun is out, the days are longer, and we are wearing lighter clothing. Your make up should also be fresher, lighter and brighter. The 2011 Spring/Summer Fashion Week introduced many new make up trends for the upcoming warm seasons. Below are the top five trends from many designer collections that are anticipated to show up on faces near you.

NUDE LOOK - LET THE INNER LIGHT OUT

The nude shades are very popular this season when it comes to clothes, shoes and handbags. The nude make up look is no exception. Do not think that nude means no make up. You should use a well-matched concealer, foundation, and powder to even out your skin tone and keep those blemishes hidden away.  For more information on how to choose the correct foundation tone read Color Wheel Your Face. For eyeshadow, try muted and lighter tones of gold, pink, violet, light brown, and peach colors. Matte shades will look more natural and subdued, while shimmer will give you a little sparkle. For blush, you can try just a hint of blush in pink or orange shades, complementing it with a little bronzer to tone down the colors. Finally, for your lips, stick with sheer lipglosses to keep the look as natural as possible.

BRIGHT EYESHADOW FOR THE BRAVE SOULS

The retro look is anticipated to be very popular this summer. There are many, many different eyeshadow colors you can try, among which are orange, red, aqua, and purple.  Read more about which eyeshadow colors would better complement your eye color here. A dark eyeliner and several coats of mascara complement bright eyeshadows well. Try to keep the rest of your make up at the bare minimum, when you use bright, deep colors on your eyes. If your have a strong eye look and you add a strong lip look with bright cheeks, you risk looking like a clown or simply vulgar.  For a balanced, GLAMORIZED face, we recommend to either concentrate on your eyes or lips and cheeks.

BOLD LIPS - FROM CLASSIC RED TO BUBBLE GUM

The main rule to keep in mind when creating bold, well defined lips is to keep the rest of your make up at its minimum. Bold, deep colored lips create a very powerful statement and the main goal for the rest of your make up is to define your features nicely without competing with the lip color. To figure out the best shade of red or other color for your lips, read Color Wheel Your Face. Always, remember to smile! Your bright lipstick help to make your smile even more memorable. 

FADED SMOKEY EYES - THE SPRING KIND

The mysterious smoky eyes look is always popular, no matter what season or year it is. For Spring/ Summer 2011, this look is a little different from the regular smoky look. Your goal is to create something neat and fresh but manage to look like you just rolled out of bed and forgot to wash your eye make up off the night before. Use slightly lighter shades of gray in combination with light natural eyeshadows in pink, peach and light beige. The main technique to use is smudging – you smudge the eyeshadow you are applying (with your finger or a clean brush); you smudge the eyeliner; and you use the smudge technique to blend the dark eyeshadow right around the eye with your natural eyeshadow color on the rest of the lid. However, don’t forget to be a little messy in order to keep up the pretense of just waking up!

METALLICS - FOR THE DRAMA QUEEN IN YOU

Using metallic shades during summer months is great because they allow you to look a little sizzled with a lot of glam. Try different metallic shades to see which suite your mood better – from deep blues to light golden sheers. You can use blush and lip colors with shimmer as well, in order to create a finished look. A dark liner and several coats of mascara will help to define the eyes even more. And always remember to blend, blend, blend for a seamless transition between colors.




Sources: HarpersBazaar.com, Allure.com, MacCosmetics.Com

Magic Wands - Your Top 10 Make Up Brushes

by Inna Grinblat of Glamorized Skin

As a follow up to our step-by-step guide to a natural look, I would like to discuss different types of make up brushes and what they are used for. There are many different brushes out there, some of which you will never need to use. However, there are also brushes that you should have in your kit at home for every day use.

CONCEALER BRUSH - YOUR FINGER EXTENSION

This is a small, flat, tapered brush with synthetic bristles. Synthetic bristles are better than natural hairs because they absorb less of the product and allow an easier application whether you want your coverage sheer or heavy. The best way to use this brush is by tapping it gently at an angle around the blemish you are covering up and thinning the product out as you move away from the blemish. The brush shown on the picture above is Studio Basics Concealer Brush or you can use Sonia Kashuk Concealer Brush.

FOUNDATION BRUSH - A NEATER WAY TO APPLY FOUNDATION

This is a larger version of the concealer brush. It also has synthetic bristles and is flat and tapered. Again, synthetic is a better material for this type of brush because you are working with a liquid/cream product, which absorbs easily and this type of material prevents the absorption. To use this brush, apply a small amount of the product to one of its sides and spread it all over your face. Try to move it in different directions in order to erase any smears and streaks that may be showing. The brush shown in the picture above is MAC Foundation Brush 190.

POWDER BRUSH - A LARGE BRUSH FOR EASY SWEEPING

This is a large, natural material, round brush. The size of the brush correlates directly with the amount of powder you can apply to your face. Therefore, this brush should be large enough to aid you in setting your foundation to a more natural look. To use this brush dab it in the powder (loose or compact) and move in circular motions around your face. This brush can be also used to apply powder foundation. I like using a brush rather than a sponge applicator because it leaves a very sheer and even layer of powder that gives the desired effect without leaving visible traces of powder lines on your face. The brush shown in the picture above is Revlon Powder Brush.

BLUSH BRUSH - EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED TO GET SNOW WHITE'S CHEEKS

This brush is smaller than powder brush, but should also be made out of natural material and should be round. The size of this brush is also directly related to the amount of the product is deposited on to your skin. A very large blush brush does not allow you to control the shape and size of the blush area, while brush that is too small may deposit more product on to your skin than desired. The best way to use this brush is by holding it at an angle with the end of the brush pointing towards your ear. Start the application closer to your ear gradually bringing it towards the center of your face. Always make sure you are applying the blush directly where you cheek bones are and blend it well. The brush shown in the picture above is Cinema Secrets Blush Brush.

CONTOUR BRUSH - THE KEY TO BRONZER SOPHISTICATION

This brush should be similar in size and material to the powder brush but it should be slanted at the end. This brush is best used at contouring your cheekbones and jaw. Always make sure to choose a bronzer powder that does not have shimmer to make the contouring as natural looking as possible. The brush shown in the picture above is Sonia Kashuk Contour Brush.

EYESHADOW BRUSHES - YOUR AID TO THE

EYES THAT SPARKLE

There are different types of eyeshadow brushes out there but the main characteristic they all possess is: natural hair bristles. These brushes can be round, angled, blunt, pointy, and tapered. Things to remember: use a round, larger brush for applying a base or an all over lid eyeshadow, use a smaller, tapered brush to apply eyeshadow at the crease, and use a small, pointy one to apply eyeliner with an eyeshadow or to smudge the existing line you drew with a pencil. Starting from top to bottom the picture above shows these brushes: Sephora Professional Brush, BareMinerals Angled Eyeshadow Brush, Estee Lauder Blunt Eyeshadow Brush, and Lancome Eyeshadow Brush.

EYELINER BRUSH - THE IMPOSSIBLY THIN LINE SOLUTION

This should be a very thin, pointy brush with natural hair. Do not forget you will be drawing a very precise line with this brush. You can use eyeshadow, liquid, or cream products to create your line. Hold this brush at an angle and try to draw the whole line with one stroke. The brush shown in the picture above is Cinema Secrets Eyeliner.

ANGLED BRUSH - THE SECRET OF YOUR PERFECT EYEBROWS

This brush is thin, angled and with natural hair. It can be used to define your eyebrows, to smudge your liner, or create a line with an eyeshadow. When defining eyebrows remember that less is more. Always start with a little and then increase the intensity as needed. Here is a good example of how it is done: The Ultimate Brow - Part II. The brush shown in the picture above is MAC Angled Brush 263.

FAN BRUSH - JANE AUSTEN HAD A HAND FAN, HERE IS YOURS

This is an interesting looking brush and many people do not know its purpose. This is a fanned out brush, which looks like a fan and is made out of natural bristles. It should be used to apply a highlighter to your cheekbones and forehead and chin. It can also be used to apply a thick layer of loose powder under your eyes when creating a smoky look. When you are done applying dark eye shadow, you simply sweep off the loose powder and voila - no traces of dark particles left behind. Finally, this brush brushes away everything that falls down from your eyes to the under eye area while you are applying your make up. It’s one very useful brush! The brush shown in the picture above is ART NET Professional Paris 27 Fan Brush.

LIP BRUSH - A BRUSH FOR PERFECT RED LIPS

This is a thin, pointy or squared brush made out of either natural or synthetic bristles. It should not be as small as the eyeliner brush but still smaller than eyeshadow brushes. You can use this brush to apply either lipgloss or lipstick and blend them with the lip liner. It allows you to have more control in order to create more defined lines. The brush shown above is Cinema Secrets Lip Brush.

Above I have described most of the brushes you will meet out there. Of course you will see others. However, these definitions should help you identify which brushes you may need for your every day and evening routines. Please post your questions and comments and I will be glad to answer them all.