stila

Girls, may I introduce to you a beauty cult classic: Stila Sheer Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 30. I go nuts for products with built-in SPF to begin with, but what I loooove about this particular product is that the tint is just enough so that it can function as a viable foundation (with or without powder), yet it is also light and sheer enough to where you can feel comfortable just putting some on your hands and working it in like a moisturizer. It’s… amazing.

This is truly a perfect product for the summer. I hate wearing lots of makeup when it’s hot outside, and who wants to deal with, literally, dripping makeup. Ew. This stuff now only stays put, since it’s technically a moisturizer, you can keep some in your bag and reapply it at will just as easily as you would a cream.

When I wear it alone, I’ll apply it with a foundation brush (I use MAC’s 190 foundation brush, always have and always will) and spray on a bit of rose water on and off while doing so to keep my face moist and to set the finished product.

I just got back from a huge music festival, and this was the perfect thing to have on-hand because, well, let’s face it: the last think you want at an outdoor fest is caked-on makeup, but you still want to have a bit of coverage to tone down redness and/or blemishes. I just slapped this stuff on in the morning, and it was perfect.

Stila offers this product in a variety of colors to match any skin tone, and at $36.00 you get three products in one: a moisturizer, a foundation, and a sunscreen. Talk about multi-functional! If there’s any product that can keep up with your busy life, this is it!

It took a while, but if you fell in love with Alexander Wang’s studded bottom Coco bag, a favorite among Young Hollywood, you can now own a “version” of it for less than $25!

Everyone, from the runway to the streets of LA, has been photographed with this bag…MKO, Ashley Tisdale, Kristen Cavillari, RiRi…and while some may call it “played out”, I think it’s just a damn HOT handbag that everyone wants to get their hands on!

Now if you haven’t had a chance to see the Coco in person, this “LforL” version from Wet Seal might just work for you…

it’s black, it’s a shoulder bag, it’s an almost identical shape and it has the signature gold studs on the bottom…

But, if you have seen (and felt) the Coco yourself, I’m not so sure this version from Wet Seal will pass your test.  Wang’s leather is to die for and the texture on his bag is incredible…too bad that kind of leatha will set you back more than $800!

I’ve searched for this bag all over Ebay but I’m yet to find it at a reasonable price, so if you like the style and you’ve got 25 bucks to spend on a bag, I say go for it!

That being said, I haven’t seen this in any Wet Seal store, so if you have, let us know what it looks like up close and personal in the comments!!

PS: I never thought I’d say this, but  I kind of like the longer strap drop on the Wet Seal version better than the Wang version! I hope the fashion gods don’t punish me for that statement!

I can’t contain my excitement anymore…in less than 24hrs I’ll be getting on a plane headed to my favorite winter get-a-way…MIAMI!  I can literally hear Will Smith singing in my head and for the first time, I don’t mind it one bit.

I’m over all the snow, the cold, the season…all of it, so this trip can’t come at a better time. I think I even had fun packing!  I had to dig out all of my warm-weather clothes, but I’m most excited to finally get to wear my Rodarte for Target bandeau bikini and my new Vitamin A reversible bikini I got at Loehmann’s for $25 (pictured left)! If you’re in need of designer swimwear for your upcoming Spring Break or vacay, you have to hit up Loehmann’s…they have an awesome selection and a great run of sizes!

In my quest to look like the model pictured here, I need all the right beauty tools (and maybe a boob job but I don’t have time or the money for that!) so I started with Molten Brown’s Shimmer Oil to give my pasty white winter skin some much needed TLC. It not only hydrates my skin amazingly, but it gives you that not-too oily, J.Lo sheen that we are all desperate for in the middle of February.  I have naturally olive skin so I don’t get too pale, but this added just a hint of color and it really made my skin glow!

I don’t believe in tanning beds and as a woman on the verge of turning 30, I’m trying my best to not believe in laying out either but that’s really hard. To make my face match the rest of me, I dialed up my favorite 1-2 punch…Stila Bronzer (with SPF!) + Convertible Color in Peony.  I live and die by this bronzer because it’s the perfect color and it has just a touch of shimmer.

Stila’s Convertible Colors are one of my favorite items in the line, but the Peony shade is not something I would have normally bought.  Lucky for me, a travel sized version came in this “On The Glow” set and it’s seriously the perfect sun-kissed shade for your cheeks!

BTW, if you’re looking for an incredible beauty value, you have to get this set…you get the Bronzer, the Convertible Color, a Mascara and even a Lip Glaze for only $23.99!

Hopefully the overall effect of all these items will have me looking like a local and not like a Northeaster desperate to escape our nuclear Winter!

South Beach here I come!

I was looking around for a portable speaker system to go in my bathroom…a girls gotta have tunes when she’s getting ready…when one of my very in-the-know GF’s suggested that I look into The Makeup Player by Stila. This “train case” comes with a speaker system and your own private makeup artist all in one! How you ask…

Well, all you have to do is download FREE how-to videos direct from Stila’s makeup team onto your iPod/iPhone, plug it into the makeup player and follow along with their step by step tutorials…no more guessing on how to get that perfect smokey-eye!

The makeup player also comes with some of Stila’s best selling items: the One Step Makeup Foundation, Eye Shadow Trio & #7 Eye Shadow Brush, Convertible Color for cheeks and lips, and their Lip Glaze in Grapefruit…and just products those alone would add up to more than the price of this genius idea.  You can get it at Zappos.com (w/FREE shipping!) for $69.99!

Once you’re done with your lesson, you can use the player to listen to you favorite playlist while you’re in the shower or while you’re finishing your hair for a big girls night out!

Ever wandered around the cosmetic counters looking for a new shade of shadow glancing at all those flat, matte, muddy, ‘no-shade’ shades only to pass them by wondering what to do with them?  I’ll tell you…

Full, Padded brow bone?  Try a skin tone shade like Bobbi Brown Grey or Mahogany to minimize a puffy brow bone or large space from the crease to the brow (i.e. Asian eye) while avoiding the dated ‘Dynasty crease’ of the 80’s.

Technique: Use a medium shadow brush like Stila Double Sided #15 to shade in the crease with the larger end making sure to keep the eye open to find perfect placement.  Open your eyes like your surprised (funny I know, but it works:) so you don’t lose the shape of your crease and gently shade back and forth

Pro- tip: Use the small end of the double sided brush to wrap the same matte shade under the eye as liner instead of pencil liner for a soft day look.  Don’t forget mascara on bottom!

You’ll never look as good as you do today…

Dara

I’m a total lip gloss junkie…I love having an excess of lip gloss in my make up bag, in my car, in my purse, etc!  I usually don’t spend more than $5 at the drugstore for my gloss, but I can’t say that I’m not tempted.  Stores like Sephora make it really hard to not splurge, espeically when they carry some of the the prettiest shades in super-cute pacakging like these!

My BFF turned me on to these Stila lip glazes a while ago when I was living in New York and I totall stole hers (sorrry Melis!) but I could never bring myself to buy a new one becuase of the hefty price tag.  I loved the easy application along with the totally smooth (and not sticky) texture.  Well I guess Sephora heard my pleas because they now offer this incredible set of Stila Lip Glazes for only $22!  If you do the math, that comes to only $3.60 per gloss and you gotta love that!