A New York City Health and Beauty Blog

Travel makeup and beauty must-haves

Image: trendland

Many women tend to be brand loyalists when it comes to makeup and skin care products: once you find something that works with your skin type and your wallet, you stick with it. But when it’s time to take a trip, or if you pull long hours at work or school, you’ll want to have your favorite products in smaller, travel-friendly sizes. Not every skin care company makes travel-sized versions of their products, which can be more than inconvenient if you’re pressed for time.

But there are a few brands that cater to woman who want to take their favorite products with them in smaller packages. And their products are affordable and great for your skin, no matter what size they’re offered in—so you can use them both at home and on the go.

Itty-bitty skin care
For value, quality and sheer fabulousness, you can’t beat Philosophy. Their minimalist packaging and inspirational quotes are signatures of the brand, but their products are some of the best on the market, especially for folks with sensitive skin. They’ve made it easy to take Hope, Grace and Purity with you anywhere you go: their Birthday Girl gift set and their Travel Agent set give you generous amounts of each product—more than enough to last a few days away from home, but packaged to get you through airport checks with no fuss. They’re great to keep in your gym bag to use after workouts and a perfect size if you share a bathroom with a roommate. Little versions of other Philosophy products can be found anywhere their line is sold, like Sephora and Ulta.

Little packages for big looks
Makeup bags aren’t foolproof, and tossing your favorite lip gloss and eye shadow into a bag might not protect it from getting jostled around in your purse or tote bag. Smaller versions of your favorite makeup—and smaller tools to apply it—are ideal.

Target’s Sonia Kashuk line offers makeup brushes perfect for travel: their Purse Brush set is a full set of brushes, so you can apply all of your makeup with just a few little tools.

For travel-ready makeup, Sephora has a great selection: Too Faced’s Glamour To Go Pocket Pallette that works with a whole spectrum of skin tones. And Bare Escentuals offers adorable little eyeshadows with built-in applicators, in a dozen bright and sparkly colors. Toss it all in your Too Faced Perfectly Pretty Bag, which includes primer, eye shadow protector, and a lovely mascara.

Being able to carry your favorite makeup and skin care products with you doesn’t have to be a luxury. Find brands that you love, and that love their customers enough to offer travel-sized versions of their products—it might take some searching, but it’s worth a little time to look great wherever you are.

Whitney Jones is a freelance writer and editor living in the Midwest.

One-Step Skin: Five Fantastic Cream to Powder Foundations

Multi-tasking products often do two things half as well as dedicated, single-task things. For instance, when was the last time you took a good picture with your camera phone? One notable exception is the cream to powder genre of foundation. Picking out a concealer, foundation and powder is fun, but carrying a super stocked makeup bag doesn’t always work with a cute clutch.

Luckily, these clever formulations, when you pick the right one, will cover redness like a concealer, smooth skin like a foundation, and set to a mostly-matte finish to circumvent the use of powder. Here are five excellent versions that provide flawless skin in a single step.

1.) Vincent Longo Water Canvas: A cult fave, Vincent Longo’s luxe version of this base comes in a vast array of tones. While certainly not a bargain pick, the formula covers blemishes and imperfections without settling into fine lines. Apply with a brush for lighter wear, or use the included sponge for more intense coverage.

2.) MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation: In a word, no nonsense. This full-coverage, blendable foundation gives a totally airbrushed, polished finish to skin. This is not a frou-frou, tinted foundation dewy look. Most MAC girls (and boys) get use this serious, long-wearing foundation for their flawless look at the counter.

3.) Too Faced Amazing Face SPF 15 Foundation Powder: Too Faced wins the compact contest here, with an unobtrusive yet adorably retro entry. The foundation formulation contained within is adjustable, and you can build it from light and sheer to full-coverage. Too Faced also cites oil-balancing and skin-renewing ingredients in this Oreo-like mirrored option.

4.) Urban Decay Surreal Skin Cream to Powder Foundation: Another standout in the packaging department, Urban Decay’s cream to powder foundation both comes in purple and has an adorable mini-brush. The formula glides on smoothly and cleanly, and blends well. And while there isn’t MAC-like choice of skin-tone options, Urban Decay offers a respectable eight hues from ‘Kismet’ to ‘Mirage.’

5.) Smashbox Camera Ready Full Coverage Foundation UVA/UVB SPF 15: Smashbox’s Camera Ready also comes with a brush, and a very nice one at that- softly bristled and somewhat like a fan/kabuki hybrid. The semi-matte formula has skin protecting SPF as well as Vitamin C, and works well for both initial application and touch-ups. (It also comes with a small sample of primer to try out.)

Are you a cream-to-powder devotee? Which formula do you find most appealing?

 

Prep For Spring With These Five Pretty Pink Products

I keep reading that pink is hot for Spring 2011. Which leads to the inevitable question- when is pink ever not hot? If you’re like me, there’s the inevitable point each winter where you go into cold-weather denial and you begin to gravitate toward super-springy shades, selecting cosmetics more geared for a sundress and glitzy sandals. As a makeup artist, I tended overall to shun browned down tones in favor of sheerer washes of pure color, and if there’s ever a time of year that’s more needed, it’s right now. Here are five pretty pink products that will pull you out of a winter-neutrals rut.

1.) MAC Pink Swoon: By no means new, this product is so deceptively bright in the pan. But brushed on to the apples of cheeks, whether you’re NC10 or NW45, this classic powder blush provides the perfect wash of sheer, true pink as if you’ve been skiing. Or briskly walking on a crisp March day.

2.) Too Faced Look of Love Set: Sets are like the all-you-can-eat sushi of the makeup world. You may not like it all, but OMG, it looks so cool on your plate. This one is really well rounded, with two primer products, a milky-pink gloss, a baby kabuki, a mascara, and a neutral shadow/pink blush trio in what honestly appear to be my three desert island shades. Plus a bag!

3.) Tarte LipSurgence™ natural lip tint in Amused: Tarte’s stains have a deserved cult following for their pure, pigmented color washes, sheer textures and wonderfully unique product shapes. This sheer, bright pink takes that concept and morphs it into pencil form in a color that looks audacious but wearable.

4.) Tweezerman Slant Tweezers in Pink: Okay, this one isn’t technically going to add color to your palette, but it’s here for two reasons. One is the color, of course, and one is that perfectly groomed brows are always an instant pick me up. And if you haven’t plucked with Tweezermans, the unrivaled precision really does help for a more comprehensively cleaned up brow shape.

5.) Benefit lady’s choice deluxe mini full-finish lipstick: Edging towards matte-iness, this is totally a Bardot or Marilyn pink. The mini-size is purse friendly, and the color is sheer enough to infuse lips with the pale hue without the effect of washing out your look. This particular product is also a freebie with a $40 Benefit purchase at Amazon right now if you use the code MINILADY.

What’s your favorite cosmetic pick-me-up? Do you have a colorful favorite you inevitably dig out each Spring?

Take a peek inside the November Birchbox!

November Birchbox
Inside the November Birchbox

Last month was my second month in the Birchbox program and I detailed my beauty swag here. Well November has arrived and I am very pleasantly surprised by this months’ swag.

Now let me back track a bit because I was initially hesitant on continuing with the program because I felt that the box contained mostly samples (as opposed to deluxe sized samples) that I get from Sephora with my order. Well I decided to voice my concerns directly to Birchbox and they responded to my concern. So shout out to Birchbox for their excellent customer service AND for informing me that there will be more deluxe sized samples. Sweet.

Needless to say, I have decided to keep my Birchbox subscription so on to the goodies! This month we received:

  • Benefit, Crescent Row Scent Trio
  • Herban Essentials, Essential Oil Towelettes
  • NARS, The Multiople in South Beach
  • Too Faced, Primed and Poreless
  • Birchbox Treat, Hair Bungee
Benefit, Crescent Row Scent Trip in November Birchbox
Benefit, Crescent Row Scent Trio
Herban Essentials, Essential Oil Towelettes November Birchbox
Herban Essentials, Essential Oil Towelettes

Too Faced, Primed and Poreless in Birchbox
Too Faced, Primed and Poreless

This month is my favorite so far and it’s well worth the $10 (shipping included). The Benefit Crescent Row sample contains three fragrances in one package so I think that it was a great choice to include in the box. The deluxe sized sample of NARS The Multiple is compact and the perfect size to toss in your purse.

If you’re like me and you like to try before you buy then this small monthly investment will allow you to enjoy some of the best names in beauty. If you enjoy the sample you can order the full size product directly from Birchbox. Have you tried Birchbox yet?

Too Faced girls have Fun in the Dark

Too Faced Fun in the Dark

While browsing around Sephora I came across yet another palette that I just had to try. Too Faced Cosmetics brings us a Deluxe Palette named Fun in the Dark which comes with a light-up mirror, hence the name. I liked the idea of being able to do a quickie touch-up at a lounge without having to head to the often over crowded ladies room. So yes Too Faced, you reeled me in yet again! When I got home I tossed my purchases into my huge bag of Makeup to test at a later date, so when I finally got around to opening up the box I noticed that the light-up mirror didn’t work BOOOO! I was pretty bummed that the mirror didn’t work since this was one of the main reasons that I purchased the palette.

Too Faced Fun in the Dark

Take a look at the colors in the palette:

Too Faced Fun in the Dark

The kit contain four eyeshadows (Pin-Up, Peep Show, Full Frontal, Lucky Charms), a lip-gloss (Tropical Pink), a lipstick (Free Love), Blush (Papa Don’t Preach) and a two tone bronzer (Sun Bunny). The case has the usual Too Faced vintage images and a magnetic closure to keep the palette shut. The colors are pretty, nothing out of the ordinary in terms of shades but that can be a plus if you’re looking for everyday colors. The palette is small so it’s something that you can toss in your bag that’s neat and small. The palette retails at $32.50 so it’s pretty easy on the wallet especially if you’re a beauty junkie like me and you buy makeup like you buy breakfast.

My favorite piece of the palette is Sun Bunny bronzer, I like how it’s a mixture of a pink and gold shimmery tone which would compliment just about any complexion. My least favorite would be the Tropical Pink lip gloss which looks great in the palette but when applied it looks more like a clear gloss with flecks of glitter. The shadows apply smoothly and are highly pigmented which I like – they feel like velvet on the skin. Overall this is a great kit that is easily worth the price because all the items purchased individually would cost much more. If you decide to purchase this kit just be sure to open it up to make sure that the lights work before purchasing. Go ahead ladies, get Too Faced!