I don’t know about you, but I’m not much of a mineral makeup gal myself. I usually prefer a dewier finish for my look and loose powders can be tough to work with if you’re not savvy about application.  But Everyday Minerals makes it easy with their Resort Eye Palette.

The packaging on this palette is clever to begin with - each of the four versatile pink and brown shadows are contained neatly within individual compartments and the kit even includes a wee (yet useful!) brush for application.

The color payoff and texture on the Everyday Minerals shadows is quite nice as well.  Try them with a primer (I like Urban Decay Primer Potion) and they’ll last all day.

Shop the collection at www.everydayminerals.com.

Bare Escentuals is Sharing the Love with 20% off! Use promo code SHARE at BareEscentuals.com or print out the coupon HERE to shop in store and enjoy the same discount.

I’ve got my eye on a few goodies thanks to this discount - namely the bareMinerals SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen.  Packaged in a clever brush-built-in dispenser, this oil-free, natural mineral sunscreen is just so easy to travel with.  No worries about the 3 oz requirement here! 

Do you have your eye on any BE products?

The discount kicks off tomorrow, June 19th and runs through June 21st.

Happy shopping!

Can you feel the heat yet? Joanna Schlip, Physicians Formula’s celebrity makeup artist can, and recently shared a few of her favorite Summer 2009 beauty trends and tips. 

TREND: A NEUTRAL, FLAWLESS COMPLEXION

In the spring and summer, your best feature should be flawless skin. But since it’s warmer outside, you have to use a product that isn’t too heavy and won’t run down your face when it’s humid.

TIP: To make sure you don’t over-do it, use a product that gives you sheer, light coverage that makes it look like you were born with smooth, flawless skin! Apply it just like you would your regular moisturizer. An added bonus is finding one with SPF in it! (She suggests Mineral Wear® Talc-Free Mineral Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15 - I also love Laura Gellar’s, though it’s a bit more expensive.)

TREND: A SUBTLE GLOW… EVEN WHEN A VACATION ISN’T AN OPTION

It’s not as easy these days to jet off for a weekend getaway, but you don’t want your only glow to come from the light of a computer screen either. The solution? Fake it with a subtle, natural-looking bronzer - one that will make friends ask which beach you spent your weekend at.

TIP: For a subtle glow that is polished, not overdone, use a bronzer that offers gorgeous color and one that offers a mistake-proof formula. Picking the correct bronzer will give the illusion of a soft, smooth surface. Sweep it across cheeks, forehead, nose and chin, neck and chest for a healthy looking fresh finish. Use it to create some cleavage as well! (Joanna suggests Bronze Booster Glow-Boosting Pressed Bronzer)

TREND: MAKE EYES POP WITH A WASH OF WARM, RADIANT BRONZE

A subtle application of bronze shimmer shadow on the top of lids is right on trend for spring and summer. With the same shade in hand, sweep color gently under the lower lashes to make your eyes stand out for a more dramatic pop.

TIP: Make sure the shadow is applied starting right above eyelashes and take it up just past the crease. Be careful though - if you apply it any higher, the look will go from being in trendy to clown-ish. (Try another great Physician’s Formula product to get this look - Shimmer Strips Custom Enhancing Shadow & Liner - Bronze Collection)

Will you be sporting any of these key trends this summer?

Though I’m pale and proud, as warmer weather approaches, healthy looking skin equates to glowing skin - even in my eyes.  An easy cheat to glowing skin is, of course, bronzer.  But applying bronzer and achieving a natural looking glow can be tricky. Luckily, Jillian Veran, Prescriptives‘ Director of Artistry, gave Makeup Minute some easy, breezy tips on creating a summer perfect glow using bronzer.  Check out the steps below! 

• Never apply a powder or cream bronzer to an un-prepped skin. Bronzer is rich in color and will grab onto dry or un-exfoliated skin creating a choppy and dirty look to the skin.

• Powder bronzer will adhere smoother to a skin that has a slight base, if you want to go sans foundation, wait for your moisturizer to dry, very lightly dust a sheer translucent powder over entire face using an oversized powder brush. Follow with powder bronzer, using a bronzer brush over entire face

• If you wear a liquid foundation in the summer, mix a drop of liquid or cream bronzer with it to create a sheer glow on the skin with out being too dark.

• Bronzer should always look like its coming from your own skin not a bottle. Go for a bronzer with a satin or matte finish during the day, keeping luminosity very sheer. However using a bronzer with shimmer at night will add depth and glow to the skin - try Prescriptives Mineral Bronzer (available in Warm or Cool.)

• If your skin is tan naturally, avoid a flat look by adding a liquid or powder low level shimmer in gold for warm and rose for cool, this will brighten the skin and enhance your natural tan.

Image courtesy of Prescriptives

Spring is officially here, so it’s time to embrace a glowier, more radiant look for daytime and evening.  Enter Elizabeth Arden’s new Pure Finish Mineral Bronzing Powder.

Available in three shades for light, medium or dark skintones, this gorgeous, diamond-embossed pressed powder comes with its own small Kabuki brush for expert application. Brush a bit over cheeks, the bridge of your nose and your forehead for the most-natural sun-kissed look.

Image Courtesy of Elizabeth Arden

Elizabeth Arden’s mineral formula uses “microlight” minerals and natural extracts for a skin-healthy, subtle look. Pick it up for $32 at www.elizabetharden.com.

Grand Duos are MAC’s latest take on the Mineralize Blushes - one side is marbleized with tri-colour veining to enhance and glorify cheekbones and the other, a complimentary mono shade to add a pop of colour. A soft, shimmery pearl on both sides gives skin a subtle glow.

Image courtesy of MAC Cosmetics

My fave Grand Duo is Love Rock, a gold hued violet paired with a blue toned pink. It’s beautiful on many skin tones, especially if you lean cool.  Try applying  any of the Grand Duos with MAC’s 188 or 187 brush for a diffused glow that seems to come from within.

If pinky hues aren’t for you, there are six other shades available in Grand Duos. These babies are limited editions, so if your interest is piqued, visit www.maccosmetics.com to shop!

Have you heard the word Recessionista? It’s being bandied about these days as so many of us try to keep up with our beauty habits without breaking the bank.

Recessionistas are those resourceful ladies who refuse to let the failing economy interfere with their fabulous looks. They’re bargain hunters, they’re repurposers and they’re all-around smart cookies who keep themselves looking hotter than hot, even on a budget.

Thankfully there are plenty of great cosmetics companies offering fantastic beauty finds to all of us Recessionistas, and I’m thrilled to share some of them with you here. Take a look at where you can get the most bang for your beauty buck:

e.l.f. cosmetics - This generation’s answer to the 1980’s Wet ‘n Wild phenomenon, e.l.f. (which stands for Eyes, Lips, Face), is a bargain hunters dream. Here you can find entire collections for a fraction of the cost of a traditional makeup counter’s offerings. The e.l.f. site often features comparisons of their collection versus lines like Clinique at huge savings. It’s fun just to hop on and see what is available and how happy your pocketbook will be with the savings!

Furthermore, many of e.l.f.’s choices (single products, not kits) run around a buck a piece - seriously, that’s it. They often run lots of sales (be sure to get on their email list) and offer free shipping with orders over $75. Fantastic!

Drugstore.com - If you don’t visit Drugstore.com on a regular basis, you are definitely missing out.

Chock full of beauty bargains, Drugstore.com has everything from the latest and greatest offerings to the oldies and goodies. You’ll find greatly reduced prices on the very things you’ll find at online sites as well as big box retailers like Target and Wal-Mart. They also have shipping specials and other assorted offers here and there.

Mineral Makeup - Looking to save some cash, yet score quality products? Of course you are! In that case, I urge you to look no further than mineral makeup, the hottest trend in cosmetics. Nearly every single line offers some type of mineral choices, including bronzers, foundations, powders, eye and cheek colors and more.

The benefits of mineral makeup are endless. They’re naturally great for your skin and provide just the right amount coverage without a plastered-on feel.

Perhaps the greatest benefit, however, is that mineral makeup is generally found in loose form and very little of it is needed in order to deliver the results you’re looking for. Once you become used to applying minerals, you’ll soon find how much money (and time!) you can save by using these awesome products. And as I said, nearly every single cosmetics line on the planet now offers some mineral products, so finding what you need in any price range should definitely not leave you hard-pressed.

These are just a few ways to get your beauty fix without breaking the bank. Do you have any other ideas? If so, please share. And be assured, any time I come across a product I think will make your wallet sing, I’ll be sure to share it. Until then, give these tips a try.

Happy Budget Hunting!

This post brought to you by redtagcrazy.com where you’ll find one sought-after fashion label at a time up to 80% off. Get an instant $5 to spend on anything you want courtesy of Makeup Minute.

Wondering which products are going to be right up your alley and which ones are total flops? Well stay tuned because in the next few days and weeks I will be reviewing some of the hottest products around.

Here’s what’s on tap:

* Maybelline Stiletto Mascara

* Products by Prescriptives, including a Face Primer, Blush, Eye Cream and more

* DEX loose mineral pigments

* The newest formula of Crest Whitestips

Exciting stuff, huh? I can hardly wait to dig into all this stuff and share my impressions with you.

Have you tried any of these products? Care to give us a sneak peek of what I can expect? If so, let us know. If not, stay tuned for the whole scoop.

Have a great weekend!

Image: Drugstore.com

She’s a beauty, that Carrie Underwood. But even the most beautiful stars head to the makeup drawer (or their favorite makeup artist) to craft their amazing looks.

Grammy night brought out some fabulous glamour, and we got the scoop on how America’s favorite country starlet got her gorgeous glow. Check it out:

For Carrie’s amazingly luminous skin:

• Whisp DEX New York’s Modern Mineral Glow on the apples of your cheeks.

And for her sultry, smokey eyes:

• Sweep DEX New York’s Modern Mineral Loose Pigment shadow in City Center Brass over the lower half of your lids, extending up to the crease.



• Next, apply DEX New York’s Pressed Pigment Shadow in Wall St. Onyx to the outer corner of your eyes.
• Next, using a black eye liner pencil, rim the inside of your entire eye on both the top and bottom.
• And finally, use the same eye pencil to apply a line along the top lashes, gradually making it thicker as you approach the outer corner of your eyes.

Voila! A look as lovely as Ms. Underwood’s. Now, if only you had an award’s show to attend, hey?

See the entire DEX New York line for even more fabulous beauty goodies.

Carrie Underwood Image: bauer-griffin

A while back I asked you all what you thought of mousse foundation. So finally I have had the chance to give it a try with Milani Cosmetics Mineral Mousse Foundation (which is oil-free LOVE). I also gave their talc-free Mineral Compact Makeup and Lip Mixer a shot as well. Paired with some of my other favorite brands, I was determined to get that snowbunny-sexy look going on.

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