BellaSugar

How-To: Wear Shimmer Without Going Overboard

BellaSugar — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:00:51 -0800

This New Year's Eve, I'm planning on doing a super low-key gathering with some friends since I have to I have to catch a flight the next day. Plane ride plus hangover? No thanks. It is the new year after all, and that means it's a shimmer celebration.

Just like you'll be sure to "know when to say when" when it comes to boozy drinks tonight, you'll know "when to say when" when it comes to the sparkly goodness of shimmer with my tips below. Keep in mind that rules are meant to be broken, and makeup should always be expressive. But, for the most flattering look - pick one (two, tops) feature to add shimmer to, such as lips, eyes, cheeks, body, and/or complexion, and roll with it.

Shimmer or glitter?: Glitter is the more amped-up version of shimmer. While glitter is OK in small, small doses - like a sweep of Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Liner ($18) paired with a soft eyeshadow - it can look too Hot Topic when heavily applied.
Family jewels: When wearing sparkly cosmetics, keep your jewelry to a minimum. You don't want your fabulous face competing with your ginormous sparkly earrings.
Body glow: For some overall brightening, apply a shimmering lotion to your arms, legs, and/or décolleté. Try Jergens Soft Shimmer Skin Radiance Moisturizer ($5.12). You can also make your own by mixing a shimmery product with your body cream.

To see the rest, read more.

Bronzed goddess: Sweep a shimmering bronzer on your forehead, cheeks, and jawline in a "3" motion for a sexy, healthy glow. Try Jane Shimmering Powder ($4.19), and then add a pop of blush on the apples of your cheeks.
Highlight: To brighten up your face, apply a highlighter on the inner corners of the eyes, the upper cheekbones, and the brow bone. I like Aveda Shimmer Accents ($21.50), which are light enough to mix with your foundation or moisturizer.
Nail it: Butter London's Lacquer Duo Holiday Set ($20) has just the right amount of holiday pizazz.
Shiny lips: If you're not feeling shimmer on the body or face, why not apply a some sparkly gloss on top of your lipstick? Try Stila Silk Shimmer Gloss ($22), which is inspired by its famous eyeshadow shade, Kitten. Me-ow.

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Spruce Up Your NYE Style With a Hair Accessory

BellaSugar — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:00:49 -0800

Tonight, I'll be laying low with a small group of friends and some bubbly. I'm not making any stops to the mall for a new outfit, but instead, I'm thinking some type of hair accessory will do the trick. After doing a little search on ShopStyle, I found a few sparkly headbands, bauble-y barrettes, and satiny hair pins that are sure to make the look all the more festive. So, take a peek at my widget below for some inspiration. Are you planning on wearing something a little extra in your locks to ring in 2009?

Champagne Beauty For New Year's Eve

BellaSugar — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:00:44 -0800

For me, on New Year's Eve there are two things I can't go without: my cheesy champagne purse that's been around for years. . . and well, champagne. When it comes down to it, the bubbly also turns out to be a perfect color in cosmetics. The universally flattering goes-with-everything hue typically pops up in soft pink makeup shades with a bit of shimmer - just like the drink itself.

Seriously, who doesn't look good in a neutral shimmer? When I interviewed Three Custom Color Specialists' Chad Hayduk back in August, he agreed. "Neutral colors have equal parts warm and cool," he said. "Think of true red and champagne, which is equal parts of gold and silver." Pretty nifty.

More on those true reds, here, and in the meantime, take a look at my widget below for some beauty products inspired by champagne - some even made with this delicious fizzy drink. Champagne wishes.

New Year's Eve: A Roundup of 2007's Best How-Tos

BellaSugar — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 07:00:52 -0800

Half of the fun of New Year's Eve is dressing up and doing something fancier than usual. So to commemorate 2007, I'm sharing some of the best celebrity hair and makeup tutorials. Read on to see how to recreate these red-carpet looks at home, and have a great time out there tonight!

Makeup

Angelina Jolie's smoky eye

Dita Von Teese's retro face

Jennifer Aniston's natural makeup

Video how-to: Cat-eye eyeliner

Janjay Sherman's golden glamour

Eva Mendes' glowy face

Sienna Miller's mod Edie look

Katherine Heigl's red lips, glimmery eyes

Jessica Alba's barely-there makeup

Sarah Michelle Gellar's smoky eye, highlighted face

Hair

Jessica Simpson's simple braids

SJP's teased hair

Maggie Q's long layers

Claire Danes' easy pulled-back 'do

Mischa Barton's soft waves

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How-To: 1940s-inspired New Year's Eve Glamour

BellaSugar — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 09:00:43 -0800

Old is new again. Makeup from the 1940's are back in style, and this style is one of the most glamorous and polished beauty looks of the season.

So if you're still deciding what your makeup style will be to ring in the new year, here's everything you'll need to know about creating Dita Von Teese's sexy starlet look at home.

For a list of product suggestion and application tips, read more

FACE: Begin with a clean and well moisturized face and add a touch of primer to your skin so that it's even and your pores appear nice and tight. Next, using a concealer brush, apply a little bit of creamy concealer to any red areas on your face. When it's blended, dab a little bit of your favorite foundation onto a sponge and blend it all the way down to your neck so that you don't have any jawline marks. Lastly, set your foundation with a translucent powder.
CHEEKS: Contour your cheeks with a matte bronzer and a neutral blush. Add a little bit of highlighter to the tops of your cheekbones and blend outward for a dewy effect. And as a fun finishing touch, take a black waterproof eyeliner and carefully and precisely, create a false beauty mark near your lip.
EYES: Begin by sweeping a vanilla shadow all over your lids as a base and then add some champagne shimmer just below your brow-bone and inside the inner corners of your eyes. Next, apply a light layer of a deep brown shadow to your crease, blend well and then dab more of the champagne shade in the center of your upper lid. Line your upper lashes with a liquid black eyeliner (lining your bottom lashes is optional) and the most important part of this look is applying false eyelashes for a length and drama.
LIPS: Fill in lips with a creamy nude liner. Dip your concealer brush in concealer and brighten up the edges surrounding your lips. Apply your favorite red lipstick to your lips in a very precise manner with a lip brush and top lips with a red gloss for sexy shine.

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Trend Alert: New Year, Long Waves

BellaSugar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:00:22 -0800

OK, I know it's nothing all that earth-shattering since long waves have been in fashion long before the Farrah Fawcett days. But this New Year's Eve, it was all about the soft cascading curl. Whether it was a more-refined look like Ashlee Simpson and Eva Longoria Parker or tousled and undone à la Molly Sims and Chloë Sevigny, the look was still sexy - and a little more inspired than pin-straight locks. Want some loose waves? Keep a large-barreled (at least one inch or larger) curling iron open and wrap your hair around the barrel for a few seconds and release. Is this the iconic hairstyle of the 2000s? We have one more year to find out, but I'm betting yes.

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Go Beyond Brown and Black With a Colorful Eyeliner

BellaSugar — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:01:24 -0800

It seems to me that the majority of makeup wearers opt for the fairly standard hues of brown or black. Pretty, but a bit boring, nonetheless. For New Year's Eve I went bold with a bright blue liner, and this got me to thinking about the rainbow of colors available beyond traditional shades.

While reds, oranges, and yellows are often saved for the runway or high fashion/high drama looks, here are some tips on how to wear shades on the cooler end of the spectrum:

Bold blue: We know that blue-based red lipsticks can help neutralize the yellow cast in teeth, and did you know that blue eyeliner can help make your eyes pop? Who wouldn't want a little twinkle, eh? Recently, I chose a deeper hue for a sophisticated look with a richer contrast, applying Wet 'n' Wild Kohl Eyeliner Pencil in Deep Blue ($1.49) to the waterline of both my upper and lower lash lines. After smudging and setting with a navy shadow, I was off for evening cocktails. My friend said I looked well-rested. Wink wink.

To see the rest, read more.

White: Apply white liner to the inner v and lower waterline to open eyes and brighten. Try Shu Uemura Eye Light Pencil White ($18), which has a white matte shade on one side and a pearl shade on the other.
Go green: To make hazel or green eyes pop, try an emerald green shade like Tarte EmphasEyes High Definition Eye Pencil in Green ($18).
Purple power: If you have deep brown, green, or hazel eyes, a purplish shade of liner will make them stand out even more. Apply L'Oreal Le Kohl Eyeliner in Le Plum ($7.95) and watch your eyes light up.

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Tonight's Eyeliner Will Be Bright and Blue

BellaSugar — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:00:00 -0800

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.

Bat Your Lashes at This Cool Typeface

BellaSugar — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:00:36 -0800

Graphic designer Amitis Pahlevan created this typeface out of individual false eyelashes. No, it's not a font that you can install on your computer - yet - but it's an inspiring example of the creative things people make out of everyday items. I particularly like how the softness of the lash flares sets off the black tips, giving the letters a fuzzy quality that's retro and artsy at the same time. This could be a cool DIY project for decorating part of your home (just add super glue!), or merely as practice for wearing false lashes on New Year's Eve.

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Doing Drugstore: Conair Instant Heat Compact Styling Setter

BellaSugar — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:00:39 -0800

Have you planned your New Year's Eve hair yet? I'm no stranger to procrastination (or impulse buys), but spotting this product left me imagining myself ringing in 2009 with cascading waves. The set was on sale and small enough that I could bring it anywhere – if NYE had me jetting off to LA for the night, I could pop this in my carry-on and go!

I got home fingers crossed and went for a trial run. Even though it says instant heat, I gave them about 10 minutes (hunger called). Picking up the rollers found them hot to the touch – don't wrap your hand around them and squeeze – but far less hot than I expected. I liked the large and small sizes for different sections and went all out, adding the entire set of 12 to my head.

Find out what happened next when you read more.

I settled in to watch TV and, at the end of the show, went back in the bathroom to remove the rollers. While I did have undeniable waves, I felt like my hair got much more voluminous (not necessarily a good thing) than when I started and, by about 20 minutes later, the curls were nearly flat and full of frizz. Definitely not gonna hold up to a long night of dancing no matter my NYE destination.

Duchess Headband - $28.00	Becca Headband - $10.50
Jennifer Ouellette Vintage Veil Headband - $75.00	Fab Satin Bow Bobby Pins - $1.50
Sarah Skinny Headband - $38.00	Felt Flower With Rose Barrett - $25.00
Rhinestone Headband - $24.00	Dotted & Striped Headband - $3.80
Rose Headband - $59.00	Jennifer Ouellette Side Divit Headband - $75.00
Karina Pearl Barrettes Autoclip - $6.00	Slice-Of-Crimson Headband - $34.00
Clara Bow Headband - $38.00	Well-Pruned Headband - $28.00
Oyster's Bounty Headband - $34.00	Sequined Headband - $2.80