This week’s guest blogger, the lovely Alissa Kelly, offers up fun fashion and beauty advice on her blog, Feeling Good. (Our favorite feature? Kelly’s fun nail posts!) We love her optimistic attitude and useful tips. Today, she’s showing us the must-have items that she can’t leave home without.
There are just some things women cannot live without. I’m a purse fanatic so I’m always switching my bag to match the day’s outfit. Every time I do, there are 5 items that always make the switch with me.
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We’re in the process of shooting February videos today, and we were lucky enough to score Neil Scibelli, a Jouer national makeup artist, to help us with a smoky eye tutorial. Obviously, good concealer is essential to making anyone look camera-ready. While we were prepping, we got a great tip from Neil: always pat your concealer in place. “I see so many people drag their finger under their eyes and it just pulls the concealer off,” say Scibelli. Good to know, we’ll be dabbing from now on—we want our concealer to stay put!
—Meredith
Our all-time favorite product from Jouer: Luminizing Moisture Tint.
TheGloss is one daily must-reads (right up there with the NY Times). We love the site’s witty approach to style and its smart and irreverent voice. We like the writing so much, in fact, that we’ll be featuring one of their posts each week here on the Birchbox blog.
So, full disclosure: this video is a year old. Sorry if you’ve seen it before. If so, here are some recent stories about Kristen Stewart‘s Twilight wedding dress and the Kardashians being ridiculous.
Anyway. This is Cassandra, plucky Youtube make-up instructor also known by her screenname, DiamondsAndHeels14. This old video of hers is making the rounds right now, and if you haven’t seen it, you should.
When the video begins, Cassandra appears per usual with flawless make-up. She then explains she suffers from severe cystic acne (which you’d never guess) and within a minute, the make-up goes away. You can tell the reveal is hard for her and she says as much.
Read the rest of the article and watch the video here.
Some other links from TheGloss you might like:
It’s been a hectic week around the Birchbox ranchito, which means we’re all running on low on sleep and high on caffeine. This morning (yes, it’s taken that long to post this), our resident skincare expert, Rachel, shared a trick for concealing and de-puffing undereye circles.
If you’re short on time and want to get a quick two-in-one punch, simply mix your eye cream with your concealer. You’ll immediately get hydrating benefits from the eye cream, and deal with darkness at the same time. Make sure to pat it on lightly with your ring fingers so that you dislodge any accumulated liquids (which can lead to puffiness). Mixing your concealer and cream also helps the formula glide on — no cakey separating action. I love TheBalm’s Time Balm, which is fairly dry and mixes perfectly with Pangea’s moisturizing Eye Cream.
—Rachel
Want more? Watch our video on concealing under eye circles.
At yesterday’s video shoot, we talked a lot about undereye darkness. The best defense against undereye circles and bags is tons of sleep. Since that isn’t always an option we turn to the next best thing: magic highlighters. In my option, and I’ve had plenty of experience with camouflaging tiredness, a great brightener trumps a great concealer. I love YSL’s Touche Eclat, a peach-toned liquid that brightens the entire eye area. (I’m not alone - it’s the company’s top-seller and a staple of makeup artists and beauty gurus everywhere.) At $40 it isn’t inexpensive, but I think it’s absolutely worth it. For something a little less spendy, try Smashbox’s Photo Op Under Eye Brightener. It’s a little lighter so it doesn’t have as dramatic as an effect as the Touche Eclat, but I still keep it in my desk for 6pm pick-me-ups. I also love Benefit’s Ooh La Lift, a pink-toned creamy highlighter that makes you look wide-awake even when you’re not. In the morning I apply brightener under my eyes before concealer (though often I skip concealer), and then reapply in the evenings (over my makeup) if I’m going out.
For more tips on getting flawless skin, watch our video on applying foundation.
Check out our makeup collection, including great face illuminators, in the Birchbox Shop.
—Mollie
For Fashionista Cousin: Benefit Stay Don’t Stray
Every holiday, your cousin arrives in an impeccable ensemble straight outta Refinery 29 — belts, bangles, the works. Her makeup is just as impressive, whether it’s a full-on smokey eye or a dramatic winged liner. To help her maintain her uber-polished look, give her Benefit’s Stay Don’t Stray, an eyelid primer and concealer in one. It’ll keep her shadows bright all night, and she can even use it as an undereye hide-er on days when she stays out till dawn.
