BellaSugar

Smart Eco Beauty Alternatives to your Favorite Cosmetics

BellaTV — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:05:39 PDT

Going eco doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality. Today, Zelana reviews a few environmentally friendly choices to consider trying out: American Eagle's Aerie Botanicals Body Butter, Burt's Bees Natural Whitening Toothpaste, and Josie Maran Argan Oil Hair Serum. Watch our video to see what these eco products can do for you!

Review Products For a Chance to Win a $500 Gift Certificate From Benefit Cosmetics

BellaSugar — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:00:22 PST

Since 1976, Benefit Cosmetics has offered up makeup items that are both whimsical and downright cool. With products like the iconic Benetint, Lemon Aid, and BADgal Lash Mascara, it's easy to enhance your features with their signature, innovative makeup creations. And now, our friends over at Benefit have an offer that's too good to pass up. For the next five weeks (from now until March 23), five lucky readers will have the chance to win $500 each in Benefit Cosmetics gift certificates!

To enter, all you have to do is complete a minimum of three reviews on the Product Reviews website to be eligible to win each week. The more reviews you submit, the more entries you will have. Oh, and if you're not familiar with our ever-expanding Product Reviews site, it's a wonderful resource for discovering what other readers think about more than 50,000 beauty items ranging from hair accessories to the latest fragrances to the best (and worst) mascaras. You must be a TeamSugar member to write reviews, so log in or register for a free account if you don't have one. And don't forget to invite your friends. For the complete rules, click here. So what are you waiting for? It's time to voice your beauty opinions for the chance to win big with Benefit Cosmetics.

Write Beauty Product Reviews and Win Bare Escentuals Prizes!

PopSugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 05:45:00 PDT

Very exciting news, everyone! We've been hard at work to bring you a new feature of our beauty site, BellaSugar: Beauty Product Reviews! Now you can search more than 50,000 products and 1,000 brands to read (and write!) honest opinions on makeup, hair products, skin care, and more!

To thank you for your input, our friends at Bare Escentuals are bringing you some amazing prizes! For each honest, helpful review you submit, you will get one entry into our daily Bare Escentuals product giveaway. Each winner will be chosen from that day's reviews, so don't forget to come back to enter each day. If that's not enough, we will also have a grand prize drawing - and four of you will receive $500 worth of Bare Escentuals beauty. The more reviews you write, the better your chances are at winning a grand prize. Plus, for every review you create, you'll earn 10 TeamSugar points, and each time another member finds your review helpful, you'll get five more!

Sound good? Then head over to Product Reviews and get started. You must be a TeamSugar member to write reviews, so log in or register for a free account if you don't have one. And don't forget to invite your friends - there are plenty of prizes to go around!

How To: Get Your iPad Ready For Resale

Kristy Korcz — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:48:28 PST

If the rumors are true, the iPad 3 should be announced in March. If you're ready to upgrade from your first-gen iPad or iPad 2, now's the time to start thinking about selling. But before you post a listing on Craigslist or eBay, get all your ducks in a row first. Here's a few tips on how to prep your gadget for resale, and get top dollar for your efforts.

Back up your data and do a clean sweep - First thing's first - make sure you connect your iPad to iTunes and back up all of your data. You'll be able to sync it with your new iPad after you bring it home. And just like a computer, before you sell your old tablet, you'll want to wipe it clean of any sensitive information, apps, and contact lists. Erasing all of your content and settings (go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings) is great, but go ahead and perform a full restore in iTunes as well.
Polish the exterior - Cleaning your old iPad is kind of like cleaning your LCD monitor - you don't want to use any harsh chemicals or, even more damaging, water. Using a tried-and-tested cleaner like iKlear ($30) will ensure you won't damage your iPad's sensitive bits. Use the included microfiber cloth (or one of your own) and shine that baby up.

To see the rest of my list, including tips on how to get your gadget sold quickly online, just keep reading.

What We're Sweet On: Lipstick That Does It All

Miriam Lacey — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:10:27 PST

Usually we consider ourselves lucky if a lipstick looks good on us and doesn't make our lips dry like the Sahara. Perhaps our standards are a bit unusual, but we've been doing this a long time. Even hard-eyed beauty editors, though, know a cool find when they see it, and Lola Duo lipstick ($22) is exactly that.

It's a typical columnar lipstick, but each side is a unique shade that works on its own or layered together. Our favorite shade is Strawberry/Cream, a pair of pink shades that are both pretty by themselves, and turn into a soft, sheer berry shade when you mix them.

We also love the little mirror that pops out of the case when you open up the lipstick. Sure, it's a little gimmicky, but it's super handy and perfect for doing a last-minute makeup check or re-applying after food. All around a great little find, and well worth having in your beauty arsenal.

We Put 3 Long-Wear Lip Colors to the Test

BellaSugar — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:01:23 PST

Long-lasting lipstick comes in handy for plenty of situations: date nights, birthdays, weddings, and any other time reapplying is a problem. But which ones really stick around as promised? We tried a bevy of long-wear lip colors to see which ones stood the test of time and found three with staying power that will thrill any lipstick lover.

What We're Sweet On: Cream That Makes You Soft Like Buttah

Miriam Lacey — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:30:49 PST

A lot of moisturizers will hydrate your skin adequately enough, but it's far less common to find one that also makes it feel utterly amazing. That's why you'll love Algenist Firming & Lifting cream ($94), which makes skin unbelievably, baby's-bottom soft from the first time you use it. The alguronic acid inside is designed to increase cell turnover by a rather impressive 55 percent, and although you probably won't feel your cells shedding faster per se, skin is left more luminous, with a reduction in fine lines. It's quite a substantial cream, however, so it's not optimal for very young or oily skin types. But if you need lots of hydration and some gentle exfoliation, it's a really exceptional product.

4 Softening Scrubs That Will Save Your Skin

BellaSugar — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:05:00 PST

While facial exfoliating is quite common, body scrubbing is often overlooked. During the cold weather months, however, scrubs can be a girl's best friend, working to remove flakes and salvaging dry, parched skin. They also moisturize and condition the body for a glistening, beach-ready body when it's a lot hotter outside. Here are four we love to slather on - one is even safe to apply pre-airbrush tan.

What We're Sweet On: Great Lip Stuff, Weird Names

Miriam Lacey — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:05:00 PST

Nobody would ever really be keen on the idea of putting blood or tears on our lips, so Rain Cosmetics is really lucky that its new lip stain, Blood ($12), and gloss, Tears ($12), are so superlatively great. Blood is a deep pink gel-based stain that's like a thicker, less-red Benetint. The lasting power is excellent when applied on the lips, but it works well on cheeks, too - even though it's not strictly for use as rouge. And thanks to the gel texture, the product spreads on wonderfully, allowing you plenty of time to blend away splotches.

Tears, the less eccentrically named of the two, is perfect if you're tired of supershiny, goopy gloss that makes you look like you just freshened up your makeup before eighth grade science class. Tears isn't sticky, the shine is so subtle that it almost looks more like balm, and it goes over stain or lipstick beautifully. So don't judge a gloss by its slightly creepy packaging; this stuff is much better than your average bodily fluid.

What We're Sweet On: A Cooling Cleanser That Decongests

Jaime Richards — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:05:50 PST

It's an oldie, but a goodie: Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser ($25). Besides, it's actually kind of fun to use. The two-step treatment begins by washing the face with the creamy, cooling cleanser, rubbing it in with circular motions to release dirt and makeup. The second step involves polishing the skin with a muslin cloth that's included as part of the kit. Once you rinse off the cloth and check out your mug in the mirror, skin feels smoothed and softened, and looks clearer and brighter.

This rich cleanser contains cocoa butter to hydrate, hops extract to tone, and rosemary essential oil to invigorate. Eucalyptus helps to decongest clogged skin, and gives that cooling, tingly sensation. But the best part? The oddly exciting and strangely addictive moment when you see makeup melting into the cloth - including the stubborn kind of mascara that almost requires grabbing a chisel to remove.