The Balm

Yay! One of my favorite brands of lip glosses has come out with five new amazing colors for fall 2007! The new collection of BalmShelter SPF 17 Lip Glosses ($18 each) features hues that are darker and a little bit more daring than ever before. Inspired by 1940’s glamour, they contain popular shades just like the trends we saw during Fall 2007 Fashion Week.

Once again, get a load of the two power purples in this bunch! Looks like purple lips are the really sticking around for fall. My favorite so far is "It Girl" - a purplish-mauve color that is substantial enough to wear along or over my favorite lilac or morbid aubergine colored lipstick. The glosses are paraben-free, and contain beeswax and jojoba to moisturize and protect your lips from the damaging UV rays of the sun.

For a list and description of each of the colors and to hear what owner Marissa Shipman has to say about the delicious strawberry-banana smell, read more

If envy is one of the seven deadly sins, I've got no shot at redemption. Cosmetics companies know that when it comes to making money, cute, clever and kitschy names help bring in the bucks. Check out these three amazing makeup products that will surely turn you green with envy too!

Jealous much of my new Urban Decay Lip Envy ($17). How could I resist? This range of gel-texture and long-lasting lip stains dry to a matte finish, yet they still help moisturize dry, chapped lips.

They contain vitamin E, green tea, chamomile, and ginkgo biloba extracts and they have a delicious vanilla scent. The colors available are Envious (pink), Greedy (berry) and Jealous (bronze).

For two more enviable makeup products, read more

You may think that concealer is simply for covering up blemishes, red blotches and under-eye circles, but you're not giving it nearly enough credit. A good cream concealer can also double as so much more!

For example, it works well as an eyeshadow primer. Just dot a little bit on your lids with your fingertip, blend well and set with powder. Then apply your shadow (for best results, use powder shadows) to a flawless canvas.

Also, it can work as a base on your lips if you plan on wearing dark lipstick. If you apply it just beyond your lip line as a fantastic reverse lip liner. This is a little trick that makeup artists have kept secret for ages. Having product around your lips acts as a barrier and prevent your lipstick from running, but it keeps the color even making your lips stand out. For more ideas on how to get the most from your makeup, keep reading!

Overshadow ($14) is a new series of amazing loose powder eye shadows from The Balm. This is the company's first 100% pure mineral product which is proudly free of talcs, preservatives, oils and fragrances - perfect for you guys with sensitive eyes!

Marissa Shipman, owner of The Balm, wanted to give a basic product like eye shadow an edge so that her clientele feels fresh for each new season. To stay in touch with all of the latest trends, Overshadow plans to release a new collection each season! Would you really expect anything less from this fabulous brand?

The first collection for fall is called The Sexpot Series and is themed around a sultry, smoky eye. To find out more, read more

In this day and age, it's easy to make your lips look plumper. The hard part is finding a lip-plumping product that won't leave your mouth inflamed and burning with pain. I've sampled my fair share, and some of the products are just downright scary. DuWop Lip Venom produces a persistent burning sensation, while my experience with Freeze 24/7 Plump Lips Ice Sticks left me looking like I'd eaten too many jalapeño peppers.

Fortunately, there are some great lippies out there that give you a full, sexy pout without any pain. Here are three I've found, but if you know of others, tell me below.

Rather than go for immediate plumpness, LORAC Lotsa Lip Plumping Lipstick ($18.50) is designed to increase fullness over time by stimulating collagen and moisturizing your lips. I used this creamy lipstick for about a month, and while I wouldn't say my lips looked bigger, they definitely looked fluffed and fuller. Plus, it feels great.

Two more pain-free lip plumpers, so read more

Even if I weren't such a big fan of The Balm, I'd still find this contest incredibly cool. The brand's founder, Marissa Shipman, is asking fans to design the artwork for a new limited-edition ShadyLady eye shadow. The winning design will appear on a shadow sold exclusively in Sephora, and the winner will even get to consult on the name and color of the shadow. The second-place finisher will receive $300 worth of goodies from The Balm.

Beauty product junkies, graphic designers, and other hopefuls can submit their artwork from now until the contest ends on July 1, 2007, at 11:30 p.m. Pacific. To enter the contest and read all of the terms and conditions, just visit The Balm contest page.

Thanks to our very generous friends at Sephora, we're giving away a different product every day throughout the month of June. First, a big congratulations to Janiceh, who won Monday's giveaway for the Korres Suncare Beauty Bag.

This week's giveaways are all about Summer beauty, and today's prize is near and dear to my heart: The Balm BalmShelter Tinted Moisturizer SPF 18 ($24), which I wrote about when it debuted. Available in three shades, this makeup-plus-moisturizer hybrid heals, hydrates, and perfects all in one easy swipe. Plus, the lightweight texture and SPF 18 sun protection make it a great Summer alternative to foundation.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment in the comments section below by 5 p.m. PDT / 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 5, and we'll announce the winner when we post the next giveaway. Please, only ONE comment per person; duplicate comments will be discarded, so commenting more than once won't up your chances of winning. You must be a TeamSugar member to comment, so if you're not a member, please register here for an account. For all of the rules and regulations, click here. Good luck!

I'd also like to introduce a special new member of the TeamSugar family: SephoraExpert, an insider at the beauty retailer who's here to answer any questions you might have about makeup, skincare, and other pressing matters. So stop by SephoraExpert's profile page and say hello, or send her a private message or leave a guestbook post with any of your burning beauty questions.

New from The Balm is the San Francisco brand's latest and greatest product, called Balm Shelter SPF 18. This unbelievably weightless tinted moisturizer has an active ingredient called avobenzone, which helps protect skin from sun damage by absorbing both UVA and UVB rays.

Although this ingredient is not oil-free, it is non-comedogenic, which means that even though it contains oil, it won't clog your pores. See, you thought Bella was all fluff, but you guys are constantly adding new lingo to your vocabulary.

I learned all about this moisturizer last week during my afternoon lunch with The Balm's CEO, Marissa Shipman. Balm Shelter will be available in three shades — light, light/medium, and medium — and is set to hit stores within the next couple of weeks.

If your mom is anything like you, then she's probably a beauty junkie. So for this Mother's Day, why not give her a fun and flirty blush made for a hot mama? These adorably named blushes are universally flattering and, with their over-sized packaging, they will last her a long time.

Hot Mama by The Balm ($18) is a really cute all-in-one peachy-pink blush, shadow, and highlighter. This is perfect for the mom who like to keep things easy and simple. Hot Mama has just hint of shimmer and comes in a magnetic case with fun packaging.

For one more hot mama blush, read more

Here on BellaSugar, I'll be bringing you interviews with the faces behind some of my favorite beauty brands, and I thought I'd kick things off by chatting with Marissa Shipman, the founder and CEO of makeup company The Balm.

I recently lunched with Shipman in San Francisco, where her company is based, and we gabbed about how she got her start in the beauty biz, as well as her current and future products. After a number of years working in TV, the ingenue decided that she wanted to move from New York to the West Coast and start her own makeup company.

Shipman bought eleven makeup recipe books and began concocting her own potions in her kitchen. Her first product was a lip balm, and the name "The Balm" was born. The brand now has more than 10 products in more than 50 wearable and practical colors, and Shipman is humble, beautiful, and an extremely hard worker. To read the interview and get to know her better, read more