Mark

Reader Steen has found a great budget blush in Mark Good Glowing Custom Pick Powder Blush ($6), a fragrance-free cheek enhancer that can be popped in and out of a compact for a customized palette. Take it away, Steen:

I ordered this in Kitten Glo and After Glo (a much-loved duplicate for NARS Orgasm). The color payoff is pretty crazy, so you have to keep a light hand with these, but they're definitely worth it. After Glo is my favorite! It's the perfect peachy color and adds a nice, natural color to my cheeks.

Do you have any favorite makeup shades that are rather similar to their more expensive counterparts? Let us know about your bargain finds by heading to our Product Reviews section. Perhaps your opinion will be featured right here on this daily post.

If you're a fan of vintage styles, you're going to love this how-to. On Sunday, makeup artist Jamie Greenberg helped to transform Twilight's Ashley Greene into a 1940s siren at the MTV Movie Awards. The majority of you were loving it, and now I've got tips straight from Greenberg on copying the glamorous look on your own, all using products from Mark. For the scoop, read more

Avon's hip brand, Mark, has been known to take us to exotic locales through its "Instant Vacation" fragrance collections. And now, it's time to go south, to Central America. The tropical Instant Vacation Costa Rica Fragrance Mist ($16) has notes of iced watermelon, pink guava, orchid, and warm sand accord, together creating a warm, beachy scent that's not too gag-me sweet.

Pair that with the exfoliating Costa Rica Body-Smoothing Exfoliator ($10), which I personally love for its creamy lather, light fruity scent, and fine-grit scrubbing, and then get your safe-sunning on with the Costa Rica Gradual Tan Moisturizer ($8).

Of course, no vacation would be complete — even if it's one of the faux nature — without some makeup. The Costa Rica makeup shades are centered around vivid colors like electric blues, vibrant greens, and bright oranges, all inspired by the natural beauty of the country itself, including: Eye Exotics Eye Shadow Trio ($6 each); Lip Exotics Lip Lacquer ($6); and Good Glowing Mosaic Cheek Color ($7). Check them out below:

Guess what? Lauren Conrad, the spokeswoman for Mark, has something to say to you, dear reader. In this video below, she's promoting the reasonably priced cosmetics brand, but she also gives a little shout-out to us, too! See a short clip of Lauren behind the scenes at a photo shoot, and find out the exact shades she's wearing after the jump.

To find out how to get her look from this short clip, read more

When you're sixteen years old, the most flattering makeup is fresh and light, much like Miley Cyrus's look at the Golden Globes. Makeup artist Mai Quynh, working with Mark cosmetics, created this easy look for the teenage superstar. I like it on the red carpet, but it would be just as appropriate with jeans and a tee. Here's how to steal Miley's makeup look:

• Face: For everyday wear, stick with a tinted moisturizer that lets your skin show through. Use a sheer cheek stain (Miley wore Just Pinched Instant Blush Tint in Nude) on the apples of cheeks. Let your cheeks capture the light by applying luminizer or a sheer gold powder blush such as Golden Glo.
• Eyes: Create the appearance of larger eyes by sweeping shimmery eye shadow on the inner V of your eyelids. (Quynh used Shimmer Cubes in Moonlight and Shimmer Bars in Twilight on Miley.) Then, use a shimmery bronze eye shadow in the creases of the eyelid; use the same color to line the bottom lash line. Follow with black mascara.
• Lips: Quynh played up Miley's lips in two steps. First, she applied Gleamstick in Platonic, a neutral pinky brown. She followed with a sheer pink gloss — in this case, Glow Baby Glow gloss in Smooches.

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If you can't wear bright colors on New Year's Eve, when can you wear them? I'm not one to go all out with a bold hue, but a hint of tint? No problem. Inspired by the Fall Proenza Schouler runway makeup, I used Mark Metalliner ($5) to draw a thin line of shimmery blue along my upper lash line. This liner gets the thumbs-up from me because it's inexpensive, the color is bright, and the tip is extremely thin — so it's easy to use even if you're a liquid-liner novice. And even in a blurry camera-phone shot, it grabs your attention. So go ahead, have a little fun with your makeup tonight — or make it a resolution to do so in 2009.