Friends with Benefits...

Do you or someone you know have friends with benefits? Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow/Eyeliner that is! I discovered these fabulous little pots of color a few months ago and can't stop collecting them.

They come in a variety of lovely colors (10 to be exact), and retail for around $19. These shadows can be applied for a sheer wash of color, or layered(just wait 30 seconds and apply another coat) for a more noticeable look.

Benefit claims: "Our do-it-all cream shadow lines, shades and contours eyes with its alluring crease-proof, smudge-proof formula. Go as sheer or as dramatic as you like with buildable color. Either way, these shadows stay put!"

And they are correct! I've worn it all day, and there's never an unsightly crease on my eyelid or a smear other than where the color is supposed to be. 

To apply, you can either use your finger or a brush like benefit's The Talent Brush. I'll use a brush to start, and then my fingertip to blend the lines. If you want to take it a step further(which I often do), put a layer of a bareMinerals eye shadow over it. I like to use Queen Tiffany(good with Birthday Suit) or Nude Beach(good with Strut or Stiletto). It tones down the color of the cream eyeshadow and gives it a little extra sparkle and shine.

Three of my favorite colors are:

Strut: Smokey Denim

Stilleto: Aubergine

Birthday Suit: Brushed Chrome

 
You can find benefit products at Ulta, Sephora, and online.

Wanna Blush?

OK, so I'm always in the market for a new blush. I just can't ever seem to find one that I'm in love with. As of yesterday, I just might have. A few weeks ago, I was flipping through a magazine in which they had a review for Stila's Custom Color Blush. At first glance, it looked pretty intense. The hot pink color made me hesitate to think that it could actually look good on someone without having a flashback to the 80s!

As I read on, it began to make more sense. This smart one-shade-fits-all powder blush reacts with your skin's pH to create a one-of-a-kind, customized shade for everyone. The weightless powder can be layered to achieve just the right amount of color and coverage. The magazine tested it on several different skin tones, and the blush worked with each one.

So I thought, what the heck...I'm going to try it. I popped into Sephora yesterday and picked one up(along with some other goodies, but that's for a different post). It costs around $20, which isn't the cheapest, but if it solves my blush woes it is worth it.

I brushed it on this morning, and I liked what I saw. It did give a nice "flushed" look, and didn't make me look like a clown. It has stayed put throughout the day and didn't get cakey. So...I think it's safe to say that I think I'm a fan! So if you're tired of guessing or wearing the wrong color blush, then try this out.