Wet N Wild

If there's one woman who loves linking charity and cosmetics, it's Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie, and she made that point abundantly clear during an appearance on Good Morning America this morning. Collaborating with Wet n Wild, the drugstore brand she already has a collection with, the singer has released a shade of lipstick dubbed Perfect Pout V.I.Pink ($3) to benefit the American Foundation For AIDS Research (aka amfAR). About 50 cents of each lipstick sold will benefit the foundation, which Fergie has been a supporter of for years.

Looking to the future, Fergie hopes to continue to bridge the gap between cosmetics and charity. "For me, it was really important to have a charitable component to my cosmetics line," Fergie, who collaborated with MAC's Viva Glam collection for charity in 2008, told WWD. Fergie will also be awarded the amfAR Award of Inspiration at the organization's third annual Inspiration Gala on April 5. Perfect Pout V.I.Pink is available now for anyone looking to do some good with their lipstick purchase.

You can pretty much count on Fergie having a cool manicure, which is why her latest endeavor seems almost inevitable. Earlier this year, the pop superstar inked a deal with Wet n Wild cosmetics, and now she's developed a line of nail polish colors for the drugstore brand staple. Like Fergie herself, her hues aren't for wallflowers; colors include lime green, hot pink, metallics, and glittery top coats. And with each bottle priced at a reasonable $3.50, having g-l-a-m-o-r-o-u-s hands was never so easy.

Ever have days when you feel like you're going nonstop? The kind of days where coffee and/or bathroom breaks are activities for which you can only dream? Forget makeup touchups, because those aren't happening, either. These are the times when you'll want to be sure to have Wet n' Wild Natural Blend Pressed Powder ($5) in your beauty stash. The paraben-free powder, especially when applied with a large fluffy brush in the morning, helps subtly diffuse imperfections and set makeup all day long. And unlike many other drugstore variety powders, the finish is neither too orange nor cakey. It also keeps the t-zone shine-free for hours and hours. So whether time is on your side or it isn't, at least you won't have to worry about your makeup.

We Bellas love a good whacked-out nail polish name. They're funny, creative, and one of the last refuges for shameless punning outside the New York Post's front page. But sometimes, the quirk and whimsy go too far, leaving us with polish names so bad we refuse to tell our friends what color we're wearing. So to see our picks for the most (hilariously) wrong shade names, just keep reading.

Whether you remember what you blew up, mixed together, or concocted in your parents' basement back in your elementary school years, I'm sure you've participated in a science fair or two in your day. Recently, at the third- and fifth-grade science fair at Jamaica Elementary School in Arizona, one young participant performed her experiment on nail polish.

According to the area's local paper, Today's News-Herald, this student's scientific test, "The 10-Day No-Chip Challenge," analyzed which brand of long-lasting polish did indeed last the longest. After applying Maybelline, Sally Hansen, Revlon, Wet 'n' Wild, and Rimmel polishes on each finger, the student then documented which one best resisted chipping over the course of the 10-day investigation. The winner? Wet 'n' Wild's MegaLast. Have you a similar result with the drugstore brand?

Wet 'n' Wild MegaEyes Shadow Pot ($2) hasn't gotten great reviews from some of our readers in the past, but apparently there's at least one shade that's great, and at $2 a pop, the price can't be beat. About which shade is high quality, reader LeahLiddell says:

"I think the other girls who reviewed this must've gotten bad shades, because this is honestly my favorite shadow ever! I'm a frequent MAC wearer, but the shade Fine Wink is far better than any shade I've been able to find anywhere. I have very pale skin, so it complements my shading, giving my eyes a 'nude' look a few shades darker than my own skin. It also has a soft shimmer that is very pretty. I really recommend trying it out in Fine Wink — I promise it won't disappoint if you're looking for a nude shadow."

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Wet 'n' Wild Mega Eyes Defining Marker in Blackest Black ($4) is probably the best deal you can get on a felt tip eyeliner pen. It's not waterproof, so no waterlining, and the color is a little thin, but if your usual beauty routine includes light lining on your lids, you can't do better than this. The formula is thin enough so that it's not dramatic, but it's still very visible three hours after application. It's easy to handle, and the liquid came out evenly and wasn't runny, a problem with a lot of liner pens more expensive than this one. I expect that the pen is going to dry out pretty quickly, but then again most felt tips do, so no big loss there. If you want something highly pigmented to fall in love with, this probably isn't what you're looking for. But if you want an inexpensive and extremely easy-to-use liner marker, it's a definite try.

October is a great month for cheap beauty, not only because all the fun seasonal products are coming out now, but also because the absurdly inexpensive Halloween makeup that's on the shelves can be surprisingly trendy and high quality. The granddaddy of the cheap Halloween makeup lines is, of course, Fantasy Makers, Wet 'n' Wild's special effects line. This year so far, my biggest steal has been Extreme Blue Monster's Ball Polish, which is exactly the shade of blue that was all over the runways last month. I'm also a fan of the line's red body wand, which has a consistency similar to Tarte cheek stain, a color a lot like Benetint, and costs less than $2 at my Walgreens. The brand also makes what are by far the cheapest feather fake eyelashes on the market. The only catch is that the stores carrying them don't have them listed on their websites, so you're gonna have to go scope them out yourselves. It's totally worth it, though. There's bargains in them there jack-o'-lanterns, ladies — go get 'em.

You all know by now that I usually love some Wet 'n' Wild makeup. It's not just the ridiculous name — the brand makes several products that I swear work just as well as $20 or $30 versions. Their Wild Shine Nail Polish ($1.29), however, is not one of those products. I know, you're thinking, "Bella, why are you surprised/disappointed with $1.29 nail polish? It probably costs the same as dipping your nails in ketchup would, and the ketchup is probably more moisturizing." And you're right, my expectations should not have been so high, and I bet ketchup makes a nice cuticle treatment. The shade I picked up, Dream Poppy, perfectly matched my new sexyface lip gloss, though, and has a hilarious opium reference for a name, so I was really excited. But then it took me four coats just to get it sort of non-transparent, and even now, beneath five coats, you can still definitely see where the whites of my nails begin. Is this true of all their colors, fellow Wet 'n' Wild fans? Or did I just get a bad shade/batch?

To find a product that works and costs under $5 is pretty amazing. Add natural ingredients and eco-friendly packaging to the mix, and it's even better. That's just what reader Sarasonne has found in Wet 'n' Wild Natural Wear 100 Percent Natural Pressed Powder. Here's what she had to say about the product:

I haven't tried a Wet 'n' Wild product in years. And given the price of many cosmetics are these days, why not? I really liked this. It's got a nice medium/sheer coverage that feels silky. I was most impressed with the shades as they offer different tones (warm vs. cool). I took off a star because it doesn't last that long and also because I didn't notice any "light diffusing." It's actually quite matte. I appreciate the eco-friendly packaging, but would be afraid if the cardboard ever got exposed to moisture.

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