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Showing posts with label ELF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ELF. Show all posts

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Make Over FUN! And Magic Too!

By CountryDutchess.com

Okay, let's see a show of hands:

How many of you have lusted after that too fabulous brunette Katie Holmes bob - but were scared to death to shore off your own long blond tresses?

And how many of you have secretly always wanted to be a beach blonde ...but wouldn't dare take the plunge for fear of looking like Baywatch 1985?

And finally, how many of you have spent HOURS and we mean HOURS online searching for the perfect make up shade, only to have it arrive and ...well, you know the rest. There's a drawer in your bathroom vanity overflowing with product and color mistakes!

Well...what if we told you there was not only a way to avoid all those color/product mishaps - but also find the absolute perfect shade of everything from foundation to blush to eye liner and shadow, lipstick and gloss .... AND try on a zillion new hair colors and hair dos ....ALL WITHOUT LEAVING YOUR COMFY BED????

Well you can do it! And you can do it for FREE at RealBeauty.com - the most sensational new website with a beauty tool so revolutionary it will 4Ever change the way you shop for , well, just about any make up or hair coloring ( or cut or style) around!

To play the new "do -it-yourself- make-up-maven" simply upload a photo to the site ( which by the way is super fast and soooo easy ). Or if you don't have one handy, just grab an image off your webcam or use one the images they provide that most looks like you.

Then, press one button and be presented with a dazzling array of NAME BRAND make up products in all the most popular colors - which, magically, mysteriously, almost downright mystically you can apply to your picture, with just ONE CLICK ! ( And by the way, make sure you notice the slider bars under the palette selections which allow you to control how much make up you want to apply!

Brands include MAC, Smashbox, Cargo, Estee Lauder, ELF, Covergirl, Olay, Almay, Stila - and many more - all in the newest, most popular shades!

You can choose eye shadow colors, mascaras, liners, blush, bronzers, lipsticks and foundations - and vary the coverage as well as the intensity.

Then when you're all done, select a fabulous new hairstyle - and, well, you'll hardly know it's you!

We tried it - and here is the results:



Can you Believe IT? We couldn't, so we tried it again!

And again!

TOO MUCH FUN!

Now if you're dying to jump right over to RealBeauty.com and give it a try, we don't blame you! But to make sure you get great results, here are few tips.

1. Think of your face as a blank canvas - so choose a photo where you are wearing the least amount of make up possible. If you can take one with a freshly scrubbed face you'll get the most true results in terms of choosing make up colors and foundation coverage.
2. If you choose a photo where your hair is pulled back off your face you'll have the widest selection of new hair styles to choose from. Hint: Only a few styles have bangs so if your photo has bangs they're going to be in every picture.
3. Photos which feature head and shoulders to about mid bustline work best in terms of spacing new hairdos and touches like lashes. If you find that the lashes are place too far off your face, choose a different photo.
4. Pictures where you are facing straight out forward work best for choosing hair styles.
5. Don't overlook the pink button that lets you resize your face when trying on hair styles. It's easy to use and keeps your new portrait from looking like your 5 year old niece went bonkers with crayons!

Now a few cautions:

1. The system isn't perfect and you may need to try a few different photos before you net the one that works best.
2. There is an ultra annoying pop up screen that appears on the lower portion of the make over page that continues to POP UP at maddening rate. The best way around this: Use your scroll feature to get your makeover picture as high up as possible so you can ignore the pop up screen. By the way, joining does not make it go away.
3. The makeover tool is not obvious when you first arrive at the site. You'll have to highlight "Skin and Make UP" first and then click on the first link : "Instant Make Up Makeover". You'll have access to all the tools including hair styles.
4. Skip hair color. This is the one tool that's not perfected. Instead of changing your hair color it just puts a murky funny looking shadow on your entire picture. That said, some head shots do work better than others, so it might be worth giving it a try.

So, there you have it! Instant makeover magic - and a way to finally get that "Should I be a platinum blonde" thought out of your head once and for all! Now you can be ....without getting all that stinky bleach in your eyes ! ;)

For round-the-clock fabulous time & money saving beauty and style advice visit CheapChicDiary.com - or visit us anytime at CountryDutchess.com - Your Source For Fabulous Fashion Jewelry & Accessories - on a budget!

Copyright by ElleMediaNetwork - 2010 All Rights Reserved.In addition to US Copyright, the text of this CheapChicDiary article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. All Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Allure Magazine vs Cheap Chic Diary: Making Up For Less!

We're always flattered like mad when these big, corporate fashion giants pay attention to what we write!

Which is why were were particularly excited to see that this month Allure Magazine jumped on our Cheap Chic Bandwagon by recognizing that you don't have to spend a ton-o-bucks to look good.

In fact, though flabbergasted as they seemed to be that these products even exist, much less that they don't cause your skin to burst into flames when you use them, still, in a feature titled "Beauty's Big Secret" they did give the ultimate Fashionista Nod to saving money!

Well, as you Recessionista's already know, we at CheapChicDiary have been exaulting the power of low priced beauty products for quite some time now - and never once were we shocked and awed at their power to make us ( and you!) look amazing!

In fact, we would venture to say that with a little bit of creative picking and choosing, you can come away with some truly fabulous product buys in every category across the board - and still have enough left over to take your beautiful new face out on the town!

It is in this spirit that we offer up some of the suggestions from Allure Magazines low end beauty buys - alongside of some of our CheapCHic Diary picks - to give you a make up bag full of low priced products that really do what they say!

Allure Picks: Ulta.com Cheek Color - $6.50 - Assorted Colors
Cheap Chic Diary Picks: Avon Be Blushed Cheek Color - $5.99 (in 8 shades)
ELF Natural Radiace Blush - $1.00 (in 6 truly radiant shades).

Allure Picks: Femme Couture Mineral Effects Pressed Powder Make up - $12.99
Cheap Chic Diary Picks: Physicians Formula Talc-Free Mineral Face Powder - $12.95 (in 9 really natural shades

Allure Picks: Femme Couture Flawless Touch Brightening Corrective Pen - $8.99
Cheap Chic Diary Picks: ISADora EyeBrow Lift and Define Pencil -With a fabulous eye brown pencil on one end an and a pink-white highlighter on the other that doubles as an eye brightener, a brow lifter and a concealer! - $13.00
ELF Eye Widener Pencil - $1.00

Allure Picks: Sephora Blush Me Trio for a bronzy glow - $15.00
Cheap Chic Diary Picks: ISADora Bronzing Powder - $14.00

Allure Picks: Sephora Colorful Eye Shadow Palette in Taupe ( $24.00)
Cheap Chic Diary Picks: Physician's Formula Baked Wet/Dry Eye Shadow in
Oatmeal or Butter - $7.95 ( for three shades) ( Also available in 9 color combinations).

And when it comes to Lip Glosses and Lipsticks, well our friends at Allure seem to think there just aren't any worth mentioning - or at least they didn't mention any in this article. We think they're wrong! So here are our picks for budget lip glosses that really go the distance in color and shine!

Cheap Chic Diary Lipgloss Picks:
ELF HyperShine Lip Gloss - $1.00 - in 8 shades
AVON Floral Delight Lip Gloss - $4.00 - 4 shades
ISADORA Crystal Gloss stick - $12 - 6 Shades

So there you have it! And whether you listen to us or Allure, it's important that you think twice before you plunk down that credit card and bring home your rent payment in cosmetics. You can look great on a budget!

Model pictured wearing ISADora Bronzing powder in Highlight Bronze, ISADORA Crystal Gloss Stick in Mango Fizz, Physician's Formula Wet/Dry Shadow in Gingersnap. Jewelry: Silver and Red Coral Chandelier Earrings from CountryDutchess.com

For round-the-clock fabulous time & money saving beauty and style advice visit CheapChicDiary.com - or visit us anytime at CountryDutchess.com - Your Source For Fabulous!

Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
In addition to US Copyright, the text of this CheapChicDiary article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. All
Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Cheap Chic and Green: Natural Beauty Products on a Budget

Looking for green and natural beauty products - but don't want to spend a lot green to get them? Here's some advice on how to get the best bargains in natural cosmetics!
So...you say you'd love, love, LOVE for the contents of your make up bag to be more green and natural , but darn it, it just costs a fortune! And really, what's the point of saving the earth when you'll be too broke to enjoy it! :) ( Okay, we do know there is a point to saving the earth beyond our own selfish beauty needs, but hey, we do have these selfish beauty needs and we just can't ignore them, right?).
Well, we are sooo happy to tell you that with a little bit of Internet snooping, we have found some of the most GLORIOUSLY GREEN Cosmetics – at prices even the chicest cheapskates among us can afford! Yes, you can save the earth, save your skin, protect your health – AND still have enough left over for that uber healthy bottle of red wine and handful of dark chocolates!
Even better news: Not only are the products w e found loaded with good for-you-ingredients like fruit oils and vitamins, and more importantly none of the nasty chemicals and preservatives that some studies show we might want to avoid, they also happen to be some of the best offerings in their category, green or not!
Now if try one or two and get hooked on green, you can expand your Cheap Chic and Green list even further, by keeping an eye out for one of several certification logos that tell you if a product is organic, natural, or preservative free.
Here's what to look for :
  • If it says USDA/ORGANIC it means it's ingredients are 95% organically grown. From a purity standpoint this is as pure as it gets.
  • EcoCert- For those of you buying European imports, this is the French label requirement for products containing a minimum of 10% organic ingredients. Not a lot – but usually EcoCert products also contain other natural ingredients, so check the labels.
  • Cosmetique Charte Cosmebio is another European regulation label which also means 10% or more of the ingredients must be organic.
  • Natural Products Association Certified : Another important label that means the products must be 95% natural and free of potentially harmful synthetics.
Of course not all natural products carry these labels – and some that don't are still excellent choices. But do check ingredient labels ...and if anything on there looks like something you'd find in a chem lab, then you might want to skip it!
But that said, you might also find some great products that have some natural ingredients and a few questionable ones- and if you really love it, we think it's okay to use it. The way we see it, if you can knock off even one or two chemicals from the ingredient list you're still doing something good for yourself – and for the earth!
To help get you started thinking green while looking in the pink, here's our choices for Cheap, Chic and Green!
For Lips:
1.Mineral Lipstick from ELF ( EyesLipsFace.com). A great, sheer lip treat that's brimming with jojoba, olive and coconut oils, vitamins E and A and other good-for-you naturals this paraben-free treat comes in 12 gorgeous colors – it rivals the pricey department store brands and it costs just $5.00!
2.Burts Bees Super Shiny Lip Gloss ( BurtsBees.com) – Four gorgeous colors, super shine, all natural ingredients, certified by the Natural Beauty Products Association - and all for $7.00 ! What more could Mother Nature ask for ? Also try their Radiance Lip Serum – no color but a glossy, healthy glow for under $5.00!
3.Kiss My Face 3 Way Color for Lips, Cheeks, Eyes (KissMyFace.com) Olive butter, natural fruit essences, mango butter, vitamin E – just some of the naturals found in this 3 way product that gives you that healthy, I-Just-Hiked-Up-A-Mountain look even though you were really just on an escalator in an air conditioned mall! Under $7.00 for the triple threat!
For the Face:
1.ELF Mineral Foundation: ( EyesLipsFace.com) Dying to try mineral make up – but don't have the gold mine to make the purchase? Then you've got to try Elf Minerals – paraben free, natural minerals, great colors, a natural healthy look – all for under $5.00!
2.Fast Fix Concealer by Sally Hansen: (SallyHansen.com) Yes, Sally Hansen, the one who made all those snazzy nail polishes is now making a line of natural cosmetics that are paraben-free and loaded with good-for-you ingredients like sunflower oil, mango butter, and papaya! Among the best, this amazing concealer – for just $8.99!
3.Organic Wear Foundation by Physician's Formula: (PhysiciansFormula.com) This company has gone natural in a big way, with a full line of organic products that are department store quality at an extremely reasonable price! We love that! In this instance it's a foundation that is free of all synthetics, parabens, GMOS, and synthetic colors and fragrances. 6 natural shades – it goes on like a dream and lasts – for just $13.95
For The Eyes :
1.Instant Definition Eye Shadow by Sally Hansen – Adding ingredients like ginko biloba make it good for you – leaving out the parabens is even better! You'll get both in these eye shadow trios in 8 color palettes – for under $8.00!
2.Organic Wear Natural Eye Shadow by Physician's Formula– Not a nasty chemical to be found! This all-organic eyeshadow not only looks amazing on – it's good for you and good for the earth! What's not to love! Just $7.95 for a two-color duo in a variety of colors.

So there you have it- a make up bag filled with Cheap, Chic and Green ! For more fabulous beauty tips and money saving ideas visit CheapChicDiary.com – for round the clock gorgeous!
Jewelry Photo courtesy of CountryDutchess.com

Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
In addition to US Copyright, the text of this CheapChicDiary article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. All
Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.