BellaSugar

Get Angelina Jolie's Eyeliner Look on the Cheap

BellaSugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:00:47 -0700

Over the weekend, Angelina Jolie upped the wow factor once again with her beautiful red-carpet look at the premiere of Changeling. Last year, I got the lowdown directly from Angelina's makeup artist that Angie is a huge fan of Guerlain Terracotta Loose Kohl Powder in Deep Charcoal Black ($32). While this beloved shade is adored by many, the steep pricetag just might not fit the bill - or should I say your bills.

To achieve Angelina's sultry eye makeup on the cheap - using a cool new marker-esque liner that's now becoming a Bella favorite - read more.

Start by creating a base with a pale, shimmery eyeshadow, such as Maybelline Expertwear Single Eyeshadow in Linen Shimmer ($2.99).
Next, apply my new favorite (and affordable) felt-tipped eyeliner - Physician's Formula Eye Definer Felt-Tip Eye Marker in Ultra Black ($6.95). To make for a smooth application, try one of these techniques: Either start lining your top lashes from the middle working to the outer corner of the eyes, then line from the inner corner back to the middle or create a series of dots or dashes as a guideline, then connect.
To finish, use a black eye shadow on the lower lash line for a smoky eye, and then apply it over the liquid liner to create a smudgy, diffused look. I like NYX Shadow For Eyes in Black ($3.99).

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Super Sexy Lip Plumpers, Part II

BellaSugar — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 12:08:33 -0800

Hey hey! Welcome to part two of super sexy lip plumpers. These glossy and sexy lip tingling sensations are sure to focus attention right where you want it, on your sexy mouth! This Valentine's Day give your lips a little extra volume to create a pout worth puckering up to! If you like these, you'll also love some of these other fab lip plumpers.

Plump Your Pucker Tinted Gloss by The Balm, $14, contains folic acid, menthol, and vitamin C to increase blood flow to your lips while also reducing the look of fine lines. It also helps to build a fuller lip in just 30 days since it has a cumulative plumping agent in it called Maxi-lip. Available in 18 shades.

To see a couple of more plumpers, read more

Sexy Little Things™ I'm Such a Tease Lip Plumper by Victoria's Secret, $15, is a playful way to spruce up your smackers. Your lips will immediately look wet, enticing, ultra shiny and fuller in just minutes! The tube has a handy built in side mirror for easy on-the-go application too. This plumper is available in two shades: undressed and pucker up.

Plump Potion by Physician's Formula, $8.95, is a high-tech, hydrating and long-lasting lip enhancer that is made up of non-irritating ingredients to help smooth out and revitalize your lips.

It has a special formula in it called, Dehydrated Hyaluronic Acid Microspheres, that helps make your lips feel softer and moisturized. It also includes Instaplump PF which builds volume and definition in your pout, and the Active Tri-Peptide Blend helps to promote collagen production as well.

This lip plumping potion is packed cleverly to look like an injectable cocktail, however, it's needle free! It is not yet available online, however it is on shelves now at drugstores that carry Physician's Formula nationwide. Available in six intoxicating shades.

Why I Love Physician's Formula's Bevy of Bronzers

BellaSugar — Fri, 11 May 2007 10:34:29 -0700

Currently, Physician's Formula has more than 40 bronzers on the market, and I am pleased to say that I have tried just about every single one of them. I am a big fan of this brand, because I feel like I can really trust these bronzers to give me a natural-looking tan without any fake orange undertones.

Also, I have sensitive skin, and since Physician's Formula bronzers are hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, and talc-free, they don't irritate my face. Also, most of their bronzers are multi-shaded, so they can be used as bronzer, blush, and contour all in one compact!

These products come in a wide variety of browns flecked with pinks, peaches, and golds to bring warmth to your pale skin. I'm obviously very familiar with these, so if you need help finding the perfect bronzer for your skin tone, don't hesitate to come to me with questions!

Right now is the season to embrace bronzers. This makeup is a safe ways to create a sun kissed, healthy glow. Just remember not to go overboard when applying them, and remember to accent your nose, cheeks, and forehead in the areas where the sun would normally hit your face.

Doing Drugstore: Physicians Formula Wrinkle Therapy Wrinkle Therapy Concealer in Soft Yellow

BellaSugar — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 08:00:38 -0800

In my quest to find the ultimate concealer, I always look for something a little more than just under-eye circle coverage. My criteria: It has to be hydrating, non-caking, and able to neutralize unwanted bluish/purple tones. So, when I discovered Physicians Formula Wrinkle Therapy Wrinkle Therapy Concealer in Soft Yellow ($9) I thought I might have just hit the jackpot. Yellow tones are great for camouflaging pesky dark circles, but did this correcting concealer work?

Find out after the jump, and don't forget that you can review products, too. Even better? Enter our Product Reviews contest for the chance to win a $500 gift certificate from Benefit Cosmetics! And now, to see what I thought about this multitasking concealer, read more.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed. It's not because this concealer didn't neutralize my darkest of areas, because it did. It wasn't even the texture that was the problem since the formulation was lightweight, and didn't seem to settle into my fine lines and wrinkles (yeah, I have some). However, it was the dispensing mechanism that's to blame. The concealer comes in a tube with a brush at the end, and as I never could seem to regulate the flow when squeezing the tube, I always ended up with way too much product that tended to clump - not ideal for my perfect concealer criteria. Bummer. It had so much potential.

Doing Drugstore: Physicians Formula New Eco-Friendly Cosmetics

BellaSugar — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:00:00 -0700

Physicians Formula has gone green! The brand has recently launched a line of eco-conscious, animal-friendly cosmetics called Organic wear. The packaging is made from (mostly) recycled paper as opposed to plastic, the brushes are goat hair, and every product is free of parabens, chemicals, preservatives, and fragrance. This is great news for those of you with sensitive skin.

Organic wear products are made from internationally certified organic ingredients that have been EcoCert-approved. I've tried several of the items and what I love the most is that they are natural-looking, build-able, and mattifying. I say if you have the option to indulge in something that is good for your skin and good for the environment, then why not make a choice that can help preserve our planet?

View 9 Photos ›

I also love the goofy model, who reminds me of Cabbage Head. For the scoop on each of the products, read more.

Concealer ($6.95) is a creamy and smooth concealer that helps reduce the appearance of blemishes, under-eye circles and blotchiness. It is available in four shades including green and yellow for color correction.
Liquid Bronzer ($10.95) is a hydrating bronzer that creates a sheer, sun-kissed glow. Available in three shades: fair, medium and light.
Powder Bronzer ($13.95) is dual-shaded matte bronzer made from Italian powder that comes with a mirror and brush. Available in six shades.
Powder Blush ($11.95) contains a lighter and a darker shade to create a natural and matte flush. It comes with a mirror and brush and is available in six shades.
Face Powder ($13.95) is dual shaded mattifying pressed powder. It comes with a mirror and brush and is available in nine shades.
Loose Powder ($13.95) is a mattifying loose powder that comes with a mirror, kabuki brush and a sift lid for mess-free application. Available in six shades.
Tinted Moisturizer ($9.95) is a sheer and moisturizing base that helps even out the tone of the skin. Available in four shades.
Matte Finishing & Bronzing Veils ($13.95) helps create a matte, soft-focus finish on the skin. It absorbs oil, comes with a mirror on the cap, and is available in four shades.

Doing Drugstore: Physician's Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Lip Sheen

BellaSugar — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:00:22 -0800

I'm so excited because I think I've discovered the perfect clear lip gloss-and it's inexpensive! Physician's Formula has recently released new products for Spring 2008, including Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Lip Sheens ($7.95). I've tried the quartz color and not only is it completely clear when it's on, but it gives your lips a brilliant shine without being sticky whatsoever.

The gloss is thicker than Vaseline, but it's not nearly as gooey as, say, Lancome Juicy Tubes. In addition, it has that fun, clicky pen style packaging that forces product through tiny holes in the top as you twist it. It has a smooth, rubbery angled tip to help with even application, and it's fragrance-free. Who's interested?

Bellissima! Physician's Formula 3-in-1 Brow-Tweez

BellaSugar — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:00:34 -0800

One of my all-time favorite drugstore brands, Physician's Formula, has come out with a 3-in-1 eyebrow tweezer, definer, and brow comb called Brow-Tweez. Intrigued? Here's how it works. One side of the wand contains a minisized pair of stainless-steel tweezers, and the other side houses the brow pencil. The cap of the pencil side also comes equipped with a minisized brow brush. It's pretty much everything you'd need for on-the-go grooming.

Brow-Tweez is available in three different shades (dark brown, light brown, and dark blonde) to suit most eyebrows and hair tones. Also, it is fragrance free, hypoallergenic, and safe for those who wear contact lenses.

The best part is that all of this costs just $7.95. Getting gorgeous brows doesn't have to break the bank. When I find a bargain this great, I just can't resist. What do you think of Brow-Tweez?

Eye Palettes To Enhance Your Eye Color: Brown Eyes

BellaSugar — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 15:02:33 -0800

Welcome to the second installment of Eye Palettes To Enhance Your Eye Color. To see the palettes for hazel eyes click here. This post focuses on brown palettes to make brown eyes pop! If you are a brown eyed girl, then you know that bronze (and even golden green) shadows accentuate your warm browns.

After consulting with many makeup mavens and experts, I've discovered that it takes more than just one color to make your brown eyes beautiful and brilliant. The perfect palette is hard to come by, but I've found a few that get the job done well. Each of these include three to four shades of just the right browns and bronzes to perfectly enhance your eyes.

The lightest neutral shade is the accent color that should go just beneath your brow-bone, the medium color should be swept all over your lid and the darkest gets applied to the crease. Stay tuned for more palettes later this week to suit your eye color!

Very Sexy® Makeup Mosaic Eye Shadow in Eye Contact, $18, is a palette of four shades that can be worn alone or layered together to create a stunning, eye-opening effect that's all your own. I suggest using the lightest color in the v of your inner eye to add a special bright sparkle to your beautiful brown eyes.

For two more brilliant brown eye shadow palettes, read more

Bare Escentuals Blendable Eye Collection in Tahitian Sunset Glimpses, $36, is a collection of three separate eye shadows packaged together especially for brown eyes! The shadows are super light, transparent and they glide on silky smooth.

The three shades included are: coconut palm (copper glaze), mai tai (soft coral bronze) and Paradise (tangerine)

Physician's Formula Mineral Wear™ Talc-Free Mineral Eye Shadow Quad in Bronze Minerals, $8.95, is a very gentle, mineral pressed-powder eye shadow collection of four different shades that all complement each other.

This all-in-one eye palette is hefty in size and it includes both pearl and matte shades to highlight, contour and line the eyes. Wear these neutral shades from day to night! The shadows are fragrance-free, oil-free and safe for sensitive eyes and contact lenses.

Lookalike Products: Shimmery Shadow Palettes

BellaSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:00:18 -0800

When I saw this new eye shadow palette called Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips, I recognized it right away; it was inspired by last summer's Bobbi Brown Surf and Sand Eye Palette.

Since the colors are sexy, shimmery and perfect for spring, I thought I'd highlight the similarities and differences of these seemingly similar items.

	Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips	Bobbi Brown Surf & Sand Palette	Advantage?
Colors	Contains sandy tones, blues and grays.	Contains sandy tones, blues and sea-greens.	Physician's Formula is more versatile. You can wet the dark gray and also use it as a liner.
Texture	Pigments are subtle, so you need more product to see results.	High pigmented silky soft color that blends easily.	Bobbi Brown. A little goes a long way.
Packaging	Opens vertically and comes with a brush	Opens horizontally; no brush	Physician's Formula saves you money, plus you get a shadow brush.
Availability	Available online now for Spring 2008.	It was limited-edition for last summer, but you can still score plenty online.	Physician's Formula, if only because it's easier to track down.
PRICE	$9.95	$42	Buying the drugstore brand saves you oodles.

Brush-On Mineral Powder Foundations

BellaSugar — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 06:24:44 -0800

These amazing mineral powder foundations are talc, oil and fragrance free. They are super sheer for those of you who prefer a natural look and they all include brushes for easy portability and one step touch ups. Here are three products new to the scene.

Neutrogena Mineral Sheers® Powder Foundation, $11.99, is perfect for an everyday, natural look. The minerals are actually selected by dermatologists themselves so it won't result in clogged pores, breakouts or irritation.

The best part is how easy it is to use; all you have to do is slide the clear band down to release the brush and powder and simply shake a few times until the powder begins flowing. This easy to use and compact sheer foundation is ideal to keep in your home or to use on the go. Available in four shades as well as a bronzer.

To see two more mineral powder foundations, read more

Physicians Formula Mineral Wear® Talc-Free Matte Finishing Veil & Bronzing Veil, $11.95, is the perfect way to put the finishing touch on your flawless face. The formula is ultra light and provides a silky smooth finish, healthy-looking tan and a radiant glow. Available at drugstores nationwide that carry Physicians Formula products.

Alison Raffaele Mineral Powder To Go Brush, $34, is a refillable dispensing brush that you fill with mineral powder foundation ($29.50). The great thing about this brush is that you can change your colors around depending on the seasons. It is sold empty and includes a spatula for easy filling.