benefit

There's always been something magnetic about vampires, and with the upcoming release of Twilight, you can expect fang fever to hit a high not seen since the days of my beloved Buffy. Bella Swan, the heroine played by Kristen Stewart, has a fresh, natural look that's simply gorgeous.

"Bella’s description in the novel is very pale and extremely beautiful with large chocolate brown eyes, so she wore colored lenses every day," says Jeanne Van Phue, the movie's head makeup artist. "I also pictured her as a natural beauty, which is exactly what Kristen is. I used a light hand while applying all neutral colors to make her look as though she had no makeup on."

Want to know the items used to get Bella's look? For the straight-from-the-set scoop, read more

Though I've mentioned the environmental concerns related to a long distance relationship, I know that being able to physically see the person you love is extremely important. Feeling like a major facet of your relationship is out of your control can be very frustrating, and missing someone is always a struggle. Together, these can make long distance relationships difficult, which is probably why they get such a bad reputation.

But there are plenty of healthy, happy, and successful couples in long distance relationships. So why not look on the bright side and come up with some perks to doing the distance thing? I've listed mine below. What are yours?

• You get to have more time for yourself.
• You're never the friend who's always with her boyfriend.
• You might miss out on nightly sex, but when you do have it, it's really great.
• You can actually keep up with your plan to eat healthy and work out more.

To see the rest and share your own, read more

If you're old enough to remember the first round of colored mascaras, you may not want to revisit the trend. But hear me out. While Benefit's BADgal Blue mascara is a shock of brightly hued blue, its new fraternal-twin mascara, BADgal Plum, is so subtle that you won't be mistaken for a member of the Thompson Twins.

True to its name, the color is a warm shade of deep plum that's closer to a dark brown than black. If anything, it's almost too natural in indoor light; while my lashes looked significantly fuller and thicker, it was hard to see the color. But while taking a little lunch-break walk with Sabs from OnSugar yesterday, she stopped me and said, "Are you wearing colored mascara? I love it!" Turns out that in the light, it adds just the right amount of color without being garish, and it highlights the green in my eyes. But if you want to give it a try, keep it off the lower lashes; I made the mistake of using it there, and it only made me look tired and, well, a little stoned. To sum up: Nice enough indoors, wowza outdoors, and best left to top lashes unless you want to look like the conductor of the Pineapple Express.

A peach blush is a wonderful way to warm up any skin tone. You can wear a pale shade if you have fair skin or a deeper, more coral shade if you have olive or ebony skin. It's a great alternative to pink blush because it's neutral and won't clash with a last-minute change to, say, red lipstick or purple eye shadow. I happen to think that peach blush also looks amazing paired with a teal, blue, or green shadow and/or liner.

My prized peach blush is Lorac Blush for Cheeks in Peach ($18). It's the deepest of the bunch that I've listed below, and the tawny color gives me a healthy-looking and almost bronzed flush.

• Becca Soft Touch Blush in Malika ($32) is neutral, so it's my go-to color when I want that no-makeup makeup look. It is a sparkly, semi-matte formula with light pigment that gives your cheeks an ethereal glow. It blends well and looks best when applied to apples of the cheeks.
• Benefit Georgia ($28) is a heaven in a box. This gentle peach powder blush contains a soft shimmer that gives you the type of glowing-from-the-inside radiance. It warms up the skin and even comes with a cute square brush that fits neatly inside.
• Dior Pro Cheeks Ultra-Radiant Blush in Hip Peach ($30) has a creamy, whipped-mousse consistency. It contains shimmer for a subtle highlighting effect and it blends effortlessly. The color is just right for medium-toned skin, since it's not too dark and not too light.
• Shu Uemura Glow on Blush in Peach (#42) ($21) is a pale peach silky powder blush that contains a touch of sparkle. It acts as both a natural color and a highlighter and looks great when applied to your cheeks, nose, chin, and temples — a must have for any complexion!

Unless you been living under a rock for the past few years, you've likely heard of Benefit's best-selling, award-winning lip and cheek stain called Benetint. This red rose-colored liquid creates a natural, healthy-looking flush to whatever it touches. Its popularity has spawned many other products like Pocket-Pal, a smaller version of the tint with a clear lip gloss, Posietint, a brighter and sheer pink tint and Benetint Lip Balm ($20) a deep pink, non-sticky and light lip balm that has recently been updated to include SPF 15.

I've been dying to check this out for ages, and this past weekend, I played around with the petite pot. The texture is delicate, smooth, ever-so-slightly waxy, but mostly creamy and refreshing. This has a lot do with the fact that it contains not only Vitamin E and other emollients but also real rose petals that give it a signature sweet and girly fragrance.

It can be worn alone (it looks way lighter on than the original tint does), or you can wear it over or under your favorite lipstick to make it appear more sheer. Lip balms are a great love of mine, and I'm happy to add this one to my list.

The invention of cream eye shadows has had a time-saving impact on my life. Not only are they easy to apply (you don't even need to use a brush), but depending on the color, they can also double as a highlighter. They're a cinch to travel with since they can't spill, and they typically dry to a nice, powdery finish. You used to have to tend to the creases every few hours, but now they've evolved into long-wearing, crease-free, stay-put-all-day formulas that hardly require any maintenance at all! Below are my top choices for cream eye shadows; what are yours?

• Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow ($19) has a light and creamy consistency that dries to a silky texture within 30 seconds. My favorite color is RSVP, a versatile, pale shimmery pinky-champagne that looks great alone for daytime and as a highlighter in the evening.
• Lola Cosmetics SocialEyes Gel Eye Colour ($20) are creamy, waterproof shadows that can be worn as eyeliners too. They have medium pigmentation so they can be layered together or worn alone. My color of choice is a pale green patina called Tahiti.
• Just for Redheads Dream Eye Shadow Flavors (on sale for $18) are some of the best blending cream shadows I've ever used. A little bit goes a long way to create shimmery, and rich velvety soft color. The must-have color to seek out is Souffle, a taupey, purplish-brown that looks amazing on all skin tones.
• Laura Mercier Metallic Crème Eye Colour ($22) is a waterproof, sheer and non-creasing cream shadow. My favorite color of the bunch is Rose Gold, a shimmery pinky brown that looks great alone, or blended with a deep brown or purple in the crease.
• Nars Cream Eye Shadow ($21) has a soft cream-to-powder texture that dries quickly and blends easily. My favorite shade is Swing, a deep dark purple that looks great as a lid and crease shadow or as a liner.

At the Fall 2008 fashion shows, lipstick was more popular than lip gloss by far. It's a little early to slip into cool-weather fashion, but a creamy lipstick works any time of year.

Benefit has just launched Full-Finish Lipstick, and the texture is great. You know how some lipsticks pull on your lips a bit, or they just don't go on evenly? Not the case with these; they glide on easily and evenly, leaving my lips feeling smooth and moisturized. If you're looking for a new lipstick, it's worth taking a look at these. To see two colors — including one that is pretty much a dead ringer for Angelina Jolie's signature shade — read more

I'm sure you've had friends and makeup artists tell you over and over again that an easy way to make your eyes look brighter, wider and whiter is to add a champagne or pearly white shadow just under your brow bone. Not only does this significantly open up your eyes, but it also makes your brows look cleaner and more defined.

A terrific and natural looking product to make your eyes pop in a jiffy is called High Brow from Benefit Cosmetics ( $20). This creamy, pale pink shade doesn't have any shimmer in it (for those of you who aren't a fan of anything overly frosty and showy) and it blends easily. Just sweep a thin line under the arch of your brows and blend for an instant lift and eye-opening effect. Brilliant!

Source

Ever since I started toying around with cream blush about a year ago, I've been hooked. I'm not really into anything too shimmery — I like to leave that to the more spreadable luminizers — but I've been having a field day with pinky-brown tones like By Terry's Rose de Rose Sheer Liquid Blush in Fresh Rose that I told you about earlier in the week. Each of these items leaves my face looking flushed, hydrated and even a little dewy in a natural way. It's as though I've just drunk a bottle of water and gone for a brisk walk. Here are my other four fave cream blush discoveries; what's your top pick?

• Benefit Cream Blush in Hush ($18) is a sheer, thin and easily spreadable cream-to-powder pinky-nude-colored blush that adds a natural-looking warmth to fair skin.
• Stila Convertible Color in Peony ($24) is the darkest of the bunch. I reserve this color for moments when I crave a rosy glow. The consistency is slightly waxy at first, so it's best applied with a sponge to facilitate blending.
• Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips and Cheeks in Blushed Rose ($22) is extremely thick and rich in pigment. A little goes a long way and the result is a deep, stain-like finish.
• Scott Barnes Cream Color in Sway ($25) is a moist, easily spreadable pinky-beige blusher that can also double as a lip and eye shade. Use a little bit for a natural effect, or layer for a deep, dewy look.

Below are my top five favorite lip gloss options for sultry, sex-kitten lips. These pale pinks and peaches (sans shimmer, glitter or any kind of opalescence for that matter) cool down the natural flesh tone of your lips to an icy finish and look the hottest when paired with a smoky eye. Which of your lip glosses makes you feel the sexiest?

• Scott Barnes Flossy Glossy in Meow ($22) is a peachy-pinky gloss that has a little bit of a chalky effect without the matte finish. It blends easily and looks amazing alone or over a nude lipstick.
• MAC Lip Glass in Underage ($14) is a soft, pale-pink, high-shine lip gloss. Rumor has it that it's also Carmen Electra's fave (talk about a sex kitten personified)!

For two other glosses to make you purr, read more