Tag: Beauty

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21 Affordable Beauty Products Celebrities Swear By

Post author By news22
Post date August 28, 2017
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If you’re not in the cult of Baby Foot, the phrase “foot peel” probably sounds a little absurd. But as Zendaya told fans on her app, she tried it, didn’t see any difference, and went about her business—only to find her feet peeling off a few weeks later. “I recently bought this foot peel because I have rough as feet,” she wrote. “I tried it and was like, ‘This is bullshit,’ because nothing happened. Then a couple weeks later, I was like, ‘What the f#k is wrong with my feet!?'” The magic of Baby Foot! It’s a super gross process, but the end result is worth it. In Zendaya’s words: “It worked really well and my feet were so smooth after! (I’d show you a pictures, but you’d probably throw up!)” Amen.

We’re here for any product that can get us closer to J.Lo’s life, and the woman herself uses this liquid for a candlelit glow…as does Blake Lively. We know.

The satisfaction of seeing mountains of skin gunk on a Bioré strip is one of life’s simple, great pleasures, something Shay Mitchell understands. Her best trick? “For a while I was peeling it off incorrectly, I’d peel it off from one side to another. But you’re actually supposed to have both fingers on both ends and peel it off in one movement.” Fingers crossed it’s slightly less painful that way.

Another oldie, but goodie—assuredly goodie, coming highly recommended from Gigi Hadid. In her words, “It’s been around because it’s the best.”

This violet-tinted Burt’s Bees balm is Anna Kendrick’s trick for color that looks like her lips, but better. It appears straight purple in the tube but goes on surprisingly sheer and subtly refreshing.

Musician Halsey always has a gleaming glow—she’s nailed that “sweat, but gorgeous” look that singers contend with onstage. She credits it to Honest Beauty’s Magic Balm as a shortcut to intentionally dewy skin.

If you haven’t yet been able to master the Kylie Lip Kit drop, no worries—we’re right there with you, and the good news is the drugstore has the best possible alternative. Gigi Hadid’s go-to Maybelline Color Sensational liquid lipstick in Nude Thrill is a dead ringer for Kylie Cosmetics’ Exposed, and with the Gigi sign-off there’s zero difference in Insta cred.

With the entire spread of the makeup world ready and waiting for her to pick it up and make it Snapchat-famous, Kylie Jenner knows her beauty essentials. In the winter, that means L’Oréal’s Detox & Brighten Clay Mask—with charcoal extract and glycol citric acid to brighten skin, it’s the rare clay mask that doesn’t leave your skin dehydrated. Kylie chose wisely.

Selena Gomez showed up to the 13 Reasons Why premiere with this vivid blue shade on her nails as homage to the show, opening our eyes to how good $1.99 polish can look.

Actress Yara Shahidi says she puts her hair through the ringer going from straight to curly (we deeply relate). She makes the damage go away with this deep conditioner, which is packed with organic oils and fatty acids to make curls strong and soft.

If you’re a tea (or coffee) lover, the phrase “tea-stained” might be very real to you. As a self-proclaimed, lifelong ice tea drinker, Drew Barrymore says this is her gamechanger—and coming from someone who says ice tea is “her life,” we’re sold. Without the pain, numbness and timesuck of in-office whitening but miraculously still with actual results, she swears it does the deed for her sensitive teeth.

The Kardashian clan is constantly on camera, thus they’re experts at looking camera-ready. This spray-on leg makeup gets Khloé there instantly and washes off for zero commitment.

Khloé’s truly let us in on her entire beauty routine over the years, and we’re not complaining. This drugstore classic dry shampoo is a holy grail.

Another Khloé Kardashian gem? Her hairstylist, Justine Marjan, turned her onto swirling hair around fingers coated with this TRESemmé gel for long-lasting, gentle waves.

Literally, at this point we know every product Khloé’s ever liked. That includes this Maybelline mascara, which she says her makeup artist, Joyce Bonelli, coats onto her lashes for both volume and length.

We get solid Tron vibes from this acne mask, but the proof’s in the Insta: Lena Dunham swears by the blue and red light’s acne bacteria-killing technique.

Potentially the highest celebrity endorsement of all: This is the product that keeps Gwen Stefani’s weekly bleached hair in working order. She’s been extremely blond for many, many years. We’ve heard enough.

We’re in love with the newest spin on L’Oréal’s Voluminous mascara, but Kelly Rowland is a diehard for the original cult classic (Carbon Black specifically), and we respect that.

Ciara’s told us that she tends to go for a low-maintenance beauty routine, but the product that’s sneaked by for years is this Revlon brow pencil. It goes on superlight, and then you brush everything into place with the second end’s brush—a twofer that also saves bag space.

On the other end of the spectrum, Kim Kardashian’s multilayered, intensive beauty routine is her calling card. To take it all off, she’s said she reaches for Neutrogena wipes. They work instantly, much like (supposedly) Teatox.

Zendaya’s glowing skin might be thanks to good genes and the fact that she’s 20 (such youth, much collagen), but she also gets a boost from CoverGirl’s BB cream.

Don’t Miss…

Under-$20 Makeup Steals (And Glamour Beauty Awards Winners) You Won’t Believe Are From the Drugstore

Courtesy of CVS Pharmacy

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Tags Affordable, Beauty, celebrities, Products, Swear

Health

Taylor Swift's Beauty Evolution As Told By Her Album Eras

Post author By news22
Post date August 25, 2017
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Taylor Swift is a master of self-invention. It’s been said before, but she’s a success by design: behind the girl-next-door persona that’s so incredibly easy to relate to (yeah! Eff that guy and his precious truck, we’ll do better), there’s a whole machine of thought that goes into her image. Since she burst onto the scene in 2006, we’ve lived through multiple incarnations, watching her style evolve at every big turning point in her career.

Country princess, pop star, retro babe, fashun lover: everyone’s got their personal Swift era preference. Nowhere better is each image so succinctly summed up than the look that comes with a new album drop. So, with Reputation’s cover reveal and a rumored new single on the way, we’re taking a stroll back through her greatest beauty hits—and analyzing what this new era could signal.

2006 to 2007

PHOTO: Getty Images

Our first introduction to Swift as a Nashville teen, her country era was strongly, strongly boilerplate princess-themed. Innocence was the name of the game on her eponymously named album, alongside songs like “Teardrops on My Guitar” (DREW!), “Picture to Burn” (still a banger), and “Our Song.” With her naturally curly hair and love for the maximum amount of glitter on both her eyeshadow and dresses, it was very much a “this girl believes in fairytales and romance” moment, and one that both made her approachable to the middle school girl demo, and set her apart from the rest of the country music scene.

2008 to 2011

PHOTO: Getty Images

“You Belong With Me” hit in 2008, and who could forget Swift pulling a Parent Trap and playing both the girl next door and the villainous popular girl. Truly, this woman contains multitudes—but the greatest trick of all was selling the idea that Swift was just an average girl looking for love. The sparkles got toned down, and while her curls were still going strong, they started to move into a more styled, barrel curl look. Spanning from Fearless to Speak Now, these were the years of her image as a lovelorn lady out for her Nicholas Sparks story. “Mine,” “Dear John,” “If This Was a Movie,” “Better Than Revenge”—there was drama, but Swift’s persona was always squarely on the right of it, with her curls and lipgloss there to back her up.

2012 to 2013

ACM Presents: Tim McGraw's Superstar Summer Night - Show

PHOTO: Ethan Miller

And with Red the curls exited stage right, in favor of her now-trademark red lip and sleek bangs. This was Swift with more vindication and agency: if you wrong her, you’re gonna get called out. Curls can have agency, but Swift’s transition to a totally smooth style read like she was tightening her grip on deciding who the world saw. There was still the romance in her lyrics—and what’s more romantic than a red lip?—but with Red’s cover showing her face half in the shadows, only her lips and a shiny lock of hair in the light, Swift painted a narrative of a girl who’d been burnt, but was surviving. The vibe was cardigans and Keds, with red lipstick and cat eye liner; a little kitschy, ’50s nostalgia-cute.

2014 to 2015

PHOTO: Getty

Ah, the age of “Blank Space,” “Shake It Off,” and “Bad Blood.” It was an aggressive time, matched by Swift’s turn to chic, femme fatale looks without a single hair out of place. Her red lips went darker, with 1989‘s cover revolving around her fractured, above the fray self: lips-down on the cover, nose-up on the album liner, and a faded, Polaroid-from-a-distance aesthetic. Truly, she hit an insane balance between approachable BFF (I’m just a girl baking cookies and taking roadtrips with Karlie Kloss) and bombshell living above the rumors (those now-signature two-piece sets; “It had to do with business“).

2016 to mid-2017

PHOTO: Getty Images

This ’twas not an era of much new music for Swift. Her only release was “I Don’t Want to Live Forever” with Zayn Malik for 50 Shades Darker. But personally, it was a huge. With an abundance of think pieces surrounding the Kim/Kanye fiasco, at this point, the world caught on to Swift’s immaculate image control. And so she transformed again.

The first signal came at Coachella, when she debuted a new platinum dye job (which came at Vogue‘s persuasion). Then at the Met Gala, she channeled Debbie Harry’s punk look with dark lips and a shaggier cut. This progressed into a few other decidedly less “safe” looks, including this unexpected rendezvous with contour and bubblegum pink gloss. That was in May 2016, and as you know, she’s been out of the spotlight pretty much since. (Her break from the red carpet, of course, was hardly a vacation—during her sexual assault trial earlier this month she paved the way for anyone fuzzy on consent with her concrete, unyielding testimony.)

Present, looking forward

Everything from here on is speculation, though we’ll surely be seeing plenty of Swift again soon enough. But what we can gather from her new album cover is that we’re in for the singer’s most powerful evolution (both personally and lyrically) yet. Significantly, the cover is black and white—and with headlines covering half Swift’s face, fans are speculating that it implies we’ve only gotten half the story.

Her makeup is pared down and clean with the exception of a not just dark but jet-black lip, and her hair looks wet, which could allude to the concept of rebirth and renewal. Such can also be said that a snake represents the same since it sheds its skin (and it’d fit with her clean slate social media strategy). The conclusion would be that she’s had her persona (and thus, her style) built a certain way, and now the real her is coming out. It’s not commercial, bubblegum, or high-fashion approved—but it’s mature and authentic, a look worn with the confidence of coming into your own.

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Tags Album, Beauty, Eras, Evolution, Swift039s, Taylor, Told

Health

Laverne Cox Isn't Here for Society's Date Night Beauty Norms

Post author By news22
Post date August 22, 2017
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Let us count the ways we love Laverne Cox: she’s a boss who, on top of being funny, smart, and an activist for LGBTQ+ rights, is casually breaking down beauty norms along the way. Back in May, that meant posting a heartfelt tribute to her natural curls on Instagram, and getting honest about the journey she’s been on to embrace them. And now, Cox is taking on one of the most insidious beauty standards in the book. In a new interview, she told the world that she’s not down for the pressure of needing to look “perfect” for a date. Meaning, she goes for powder and nothing else.

As Cox told Access Hollywood, “My whole dating [philosophy] is, I show up as Laverne. I don’t glam up. I give maybe a little powder for shine, and I’m like, this is it. Because the first few dates, you don’t know if they’re going to last or not.”

“I’m going to put the effort in once you’ve proven that you deserve all of this,” she continued, motioning up and down herself. “I used to, when I was younger. Now, it’s not about trying to make [dates] like me. I used to try and make them like me. Now [my dating criteria is], do I like you? Do we have anything in common? Are you into the real, authentic Laverne, stripped way down?”

Moment upfront: Of course, there’s nothing wrong with wearing makeup on a date if that’s what makes you feel ready to take on another, no-doubt-this-one’s-a-winner Tinder date. To each their own. If Nars’ Cruella helps you feel like your best self (raises hand), we’re solidly here for it. Still, it’s hard not to identify with the reality in her words: time and time again, it’s pounded into us that before a date, you’ve got to shower, shave, perfume, whatever, to put on a “desirable” image. Sh*t’s outdated, and Cox nailed it.

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Tags Beauty, Cox, Date, Isn039t, Laverne, Night, Norms, Society039s

Health

Why Toxic Beauty Products Harm Women of Color, and How We Can Protect Ourselves

Post author By news22
Post date August 18, 2017
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During the past 24 hours, I’ve read dozens of articles about how women of color are disproportionally exposed to toxic chemicals in beauty products. Every article cited the same source—a commentary published this week in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology—and listed life-threatening side effects. Many went on to explain that women of color are more at risk than white women because of racial stereotypes and beauty standards—harmful ingredients found in hair relaxers, skin-bleaching creams, and unnecessary vaginal douches were specifically called out.

As I read, I was equal parts furious, relieved, and a little confused. Of course we should be talking about the price women pay to fit into beauty-standard boxes. We should openly discuss the fact that we live in a world where how you look can get you sent home from school or cost you your livelihood. But nothing I read told me, a woman of color, how I could avoid poisoning myself. There was zero advice on how to shop for beauty products safely or what brands and ingredients to avoid. So I reached out the lead author of the commentary, Dr. Ami Zota, to figure out where this scientific data fits into the daily lives of women in America.

Dr. Zota made clear that she and her colleagues weren’t presenting new data, but were using recent research to draw attention to a serious and often undiscussed issue: Trying to adhere to Western European beauty standards is costing women their health and, in some cases, their lives. The commentary—think of it kind of a as an expertly curated Pinterest board of facts—pointed to studies conducted in the United States and around the world. The facts are clear: Women of color spend more on beauty products than white women. Women of color use skin-lightening, hair-straightening, and vaginal-douching products more than white women. And women of color have been found to have higher levels of dangerous toxins like mercury and parabens in their blood than white women. When packaged together, along with some disturbing findings like “black women’s natural hair was rated as ‘less attractive’ and ‘less professional’ than when it was straightened,” Zota’s work paints a compelling picture of a dangerous trend. But she’s quick to assert that there’s more to the story and that there are ways that women of color can actively protect themselves.

For starters, Zota recommends keeping an eye out for potentially harmful ingredients while you shop. “Some types of chemicals are more clearly labeled so you can attempt to avoid them,” she told me. “You can reduce your exposure by reading labels. Parabens, for example, are more likely to be listed on packaging and labels so you can look for things that are paraben-free.” But finding key words on ingredients lists isn’t enough. “Other types of chemicals are less likely to be labeled, typically because they’re in fragrances,” Zota said. “The FDA doesn’t require companies to list the individual components of fragrance. Historically, that’s the one place that contaminants, like phthalates, are found.”

You can also keep yourself informed on a daily basis using websites like the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep, which lists known chemicals in beauty products. You can search through brands or look up specific products that have been researched. While Zota doesn’t endorse EWG certification as a sole means of preventing exposure to toxins, it’s one more way to vet potential dangers.

A third factor, one that hasn’t been making the rounds in recent coverage, is that there’s another marginalized group with the umbrella “women of color” who are at the greatest risk. “Most of the literature we cited looked at immigrant women [in the United States] who were bringing in products from other countries or buying their products in small stores that are getting cosmetics from questionable sources.”

Being aware of the potentially harmful unregulated products made available to women in this country is a hugely important part of her research. “We’re not trying to fear-monger, and I’m not a fan of sensational headlines. We’re really trying to educate people, because we are learning that some contaminants, even at a low level, when used on a daily basis can have implications on reproductive health and the health of one’s offspring.”

While I’m thrilled that we’re talking about the injustices women of color face every day, it’s also important that we don’t just read, feel awful, and then move on. There’s a reason women of color are more exposed to harmful toxins in beauty products. There are ways to protect ourselves and to deal with the real, deep-rooted issues that create these problems in the first place. The conversation should continue. We need to keep talking.

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Tags Beauty, Color, Harm, Products, Protect, Toxic, Women

Health

Bloomingdales Is Opening Up Beauty Boutiques, and They're Carrying An Insane Amount of Stuff

Post author By news22
Post date August 18, 2017
No Comments on Bloomingdales Is Opening Up Beauty Boutiques, and They're Carrying An Insane Amount of Stuff

PHOTO: Instagram / @bloomingdales

It’s a good time to be a beauty obsessive: On the heels of Sephora bringing in everything from ColourPop to Pat McGrath and blowing our minds with its weekly deep-cut sales, Bloomingdales just announced that the beauty department we all know and love is about to change with a new concept that includes 800 products all under $100. That’s not a small brown bag situation.

Going by the name Glowhaus, the idea is built around discovering your new favorite things, Stacie Borteck, Bloomingdales’ vice president and divisional merchandise manager of cosmetics told Glamour. “It’s a space to browse and play in a low-pressure environment, anchored by a play table to hang out around, try products at and take selfies.” Only four of the 30 brands are Bloomies tried and true, so it’s an eye-opening assortment of new products—and the 800 products are pulled from labels you’d be more likely to spot on Instagram Discover than in the department store.

The focus is on color and tools, so look for the influencer-loved Vamp Stamp and Winky Lux’s trademark flower lipsticks, alongside products and brands like Lash Star Beauty’s Heated Lash Styler, Lime Crime’s Diamond Crushers, Rouge Bunny Rouge, Lanolips, and Sigma Beauty.

PHOTO: Courtesy of brand.

So between this and the aforementioned ColourPop in Sephora, we’re essentially done with shipping fees. According to WWD, as of now the products will be broken down by clean beauty, no-makeup makeup (so, Glossier-esque), and glitter and metallic-finish Insta makeup.

PHOTO: Courtesy of brand.

But that likely won’t stick around for long—Borteck says the emphasis will be on constantly keeping the selection fresh, with input from shoppers welcome. Per Bloomingdales, “brand agnostic associates” will be there to guide us through the stock, with makeup artists on hand to man the stations of products trending on social media.

PHOTO: Courtesy of brand.

Brand loyalty runs deep for both Sephora and Ulta, so on top of the Bloomie’s Loyallist program (double points every day on beauty purchases, and special point offerings during select events), Glowhaus is launching a sample program: for every $50 spent, you can choose one of four deluxe, under-the-radar samples.

PHOTO: Courtesy of brand.

The single downside is that for now, the boutiques will be limited to locations in Roosevelt Field, New York, and San Francisco, Sherman Oaks and South Coast Plaza in California. All open on August 30—but with a sell like 800 products under $100, Borteck says to look for more locations in 2018.

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Tags Amount, Beauty, Bloomingdales, Boutiques, Carrying, Insane, Opening, Stuff, They039re

Health

Why Beauty Supply Stores Are the Best Spots to Buy Makeup

Post author By news22
Post date August 18, 2017
No Comments on Why Beauty Supply Stores Are the Best Spots to Buy Makeup

Ask me where my favorite place to buy makeup is and you won’t hear the words Sephora or Ulta leave my lips. I’m sure this is considered blasphemy in some circles—a crime as high as accidentally knocking a Naked Palette off your vanity and watching its shimmery contents explode into smithereens. People usually guess the drugstore or Amazon next, and while, yes, I am thrifty and love a good CVS haul, it’s those nondescript (sometimes tacky-looking) shops smashed right in the center of a strip mall that I could go on about for days. I’ll say it louder for those in the back: beauty supply stores are sorely underrated.

My obsession with them has spanned as far back as I can remember, mainly because I fell in love with makeup years before I could afford to step foot in a Sephora. As a teen who grew up in Brooklyn and later on in Roanoke, Virginia, $30 for a (considerably cheap) palette—let alone a humble lipstick—just wasn’t an option. Especially at the astonishing rate I burned through black eyeliner. Those were the days of emo music and angsty Jenny Humphrey and I needed to be a part of it. The only makeup that came within budget of my allowance were from brands like Kiss, NK Cosmetics, and Absolute New York. (If you’re not familiar with them, don’t worry, we’ll get there.)

Even now, as a beauty editor with money left over after rent and tons of access to beauty brands, I prefer my corner beauty shop to the bright lights and packed spaces of everyone else’s beloved beauty meccas. They’re low-key, there’s no pressure to spend grocery money on a palette you’ll use once, and the displays, no joke, are just as easy to navigate. I can say with certainty I’ve found the world’s best matte lipstick, a $3 eyeliner that rivals every single spendy version I’ve ever tried, and that about a quarter of my makeup bag is filled with hidden gems I’ve picked up while strolling the shelves of Sally Beauty.

I’d be remiss—and honestly, just a really crappy beauty editor—if I didn’t share some of my favorites. So after rummaging the shelves for years, I’ve put together a short list of the beauty supply store brands I’m consistently impressed with time and time again. If you happen to find yourself near a corner shop (here’s an easy way to find one near you) or spot one of these brands in the wild (they’ve been known to pop up in assorted drugstores), just know they come highly recommended. Also, one other tip: don’t forget to check at the front for coupons before you hit the shelves. The deals get so good, it’s stupid.

NK Cosmetics

Consider this brand my gateway drug to beauty supply store makeup. I’d slipped into my local shop to pick up some alligator clips and spotted True Matte at the register. Now I return to NK Cosmetics every time a viral beauty trend shows up on my feed. Why? Because I’m not going to drop $20 on a bright blue liquid lipstick until I know how it looks with my undertones (don’t worry, it looks amazing). True Matte comes in 18 shades and swatches in creamy, true to tube color that dries down to a divine, powder finish—literally a true matte. At $2.99, I never feel guilty for grabbing every color that catches my eye.

Oh, also, don’t sleep on its other lipsticks. NK always has the latest thing, so glitter, ombré, all the wild stuff you see on Insta all makes its way into the line.

Absolute New York

I’m never not surprised by just how many options Absolute has of everything. Every time I see one of its display, the size rivals OG lines like NYX in size and offering. Above all, ABSNY—it’s a mouthful to say, but that’s how most of the brand’s products are labeled—has really fine-tuned its pencils and liners. Confession: I’ve ducked into a Sally Beauty more than once to grab a lip liner or brow pencil after realizing I left my makeup bag at home. Truly, they’re pitstop-worthy.

Across the board from liquid to kohl, ABSNY knows how to draw a line. And if I had to pick a single, favorite product from this brand it would be the Super Slim Brow Pencil. At $7.99, it’s on the higher end of the supply store price range, but it’s one of the best options I’ve tried for creating a full, natural brow. That’s right brow powder, chalk, and gel—you’ve all been beaten.

Kiss New York Professional

One of the biggest downsides to drugstore beauty is the guesswork that goes into matching complexion products to your skin tone. I’m sorry, but no plastic paint swatch-looking thing attached to a makeup display is going to accurately show how a foundation looks on my skin. (I’ve been burned more than once and I’m not here to play.) Beauty supply stores, however, almost always have tester products available (if not, ask the rep at checkout, they’ll often create a tester for you to swatch.) That’s how I discovered—and promptly became crazy over—Kiss’s highlighters, blushes, and concealers.

Kiss also makes some of the best face makeup I’ve come across for under $20. And right now, I’m not convinced that any strobing powder out there can do a better job than Kiss’s Halo Strobing Palette. (Even if it does exist, I’m damn sure it costs more than $16.)

Ruby Kisses Cosmetics

One thing you’ll notice in a beauty supply store is that many of the brands are related to each other (the same thing happens with designer and drugstore makeup, but it’s less obvious). Ruby Kisses is a sister brand of Kiss with an eye toward a slightly younger audience and a slightly lower price point. So, basically, it’s your kid cousin’s dream come to life with a wide range of bright and colorful makeup that’s just plain fun to use. But make no mistake: There’s no age limit to color.

This is another one of those good “test the waters” brands when it comes to current trends. I refuse to spend $50 on an eyeshadow palette because I’m not an eyeshadow enthusiast (if I was, this would be a whole different story), but I’ll rock a smoky eye if a situation calls for it. That’s where this $5.46 palette comes in. Yeah, you read that right. And before you scoff at its quality, the brand recently added Moroccan clay to its shadow formulas for an ultra-blendable and buildable finish. Like I said, I’m no shadow junkie, but that’s exactly why I love this.

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Tags Beauty, Buy, Makeup, Spots, Stores, Supply