What you use to put your makeup on is just as important as what kind of makeup you are using. When you apply makeup with the wrong brush, or one of poor quality, it can ruin your entire beauty queen look. Whether you’re preparing a rockstar look for a night out, a daytime look for class, or just trying to cover up your hangover, your brush’s shape, texture and quality is vital. Here are a few types of brushes that should be on every girl’s vanity (or wish list, hint-hint).

Kabuki Face Brush: Kabuki brushes are huge and perfect for all over face coverage, whether you are applying foundation or bronzer. This kabuki brush is from Too Faced and is made with “teddy bear hair bristles” so it’s soft on sensitive faces. Yes, it’s a little pricey but the texture and longevity make it worth the splurge. If your’re looking for something a little cheaper but still quality you can check out The Balm’s mini version of the kabuki brush.

Concealer Brush: When applying concealer to cover up your blemishes or under eye marks, it can be tempting to skip the brush. But by getting a concealer brush like this one from Bare Escentuals you are keeping your skin clean and getting a fully blended look.

Angled Blush Brush: Using round brushes for blush can create a Bozo-like look, but angled brushes make the cheek color look more natural. A soft angled blush brush like this one from Benefit works best when applied on the apples of the cheeks in an upward sweeping motion. Read More »

Is there anything better than makeup? All those brushes, colors and products that take you from “Oy Vey” to “Hot Damn!” I love makeup (LOVE it), so I can think of nothing I want more this year than lots and lots of it.

Below are just a few of the things on top of my holiday wish list. Yeah, we’re in a major recession but what’s the point of making a wish list if you are going to be practical about it? A girl can dream can’t she?

Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf - $150 Saks Fifth Ave

This obviously floral perfume is extremely sexy and opulent. It’s wearable but so rich that, well, it even smells expensive.

Clarisonic Skincare Brush - $195 Sephora.com

If you are serious about skincare this facial brush is definitely worth the investment. It’s truly luxury meets practicality. Nothing cleans your face more gently and effectively. Perfect for all skin types, and can even combat stubborn cystic acne.

Fredderic Fekkai Advanced Overnight Hair Repair - $195 Saks Fifth Ave

This product is hair magic in a bottle. It has smart technology that actually seeks out and targets weak and damaged sections of the hair shaft and rebuilds them. You might want to make some extra batches of cookies for Santa if you’re hoping for this in your stocking. Read More »

So you just got in from a great night out, your aching head and tired feet are telling you to hit the sheets, but your makeup-covered face is screaming “wash me!” I know this is the last thing you want to do right now, but removing makeup is really important for your skin, and let’s not forget the risk of getting harmful mascara in your eye!

In order to keep your skin clean, glowing and moisturized it is vital to wash off your makeup. If that’s not convincing enough, makeup removal will at least keep your pillowcase clean, and who doesn’t love a clean pillow?

Below are some great products to help you keep clean.

L’oreal Eye Makeup Remover- $6.99. This remover is not greasy (like many products are) and it gets all makeup off (including waterproof liners and mascaras). It’s a drugstore brand so it’s fairly inexpensive, and, best of all, it smells like roses!

Clinique Rinse-off Eye Makeup Solvent: $16.50. This remover is not sudsy or soapy, and leaves behind no residue. Quick and easy (perfect for those late nights). This remover is a tad on the expensive side, but I think it’s worth it. While I love this Clinique remover, I’d stay away from Clinique’s Take the Day Off remover as it tends to leave skin oily and gross.

Bare Escentuals: bareEyes: $14 This remover is enriched with copper to make skin around the eyes soft. It is safe for contact users and is great for moisturizing and cleansing. Read More »

So tell us. Are you as obsessed with Twilight as we are? We finished the entire series — even the unpublished 5th manuscript! — in less than two weeks, and of course we pre-ordered our tickets for the movie (we’ll be there Friday night at 10pm with some of our other obsessed friends!).

So it only stands to reason that we’ve been noticing tons of beauty products that seem to be inspired by the series. From highlighter to lipgloss, eyeliner to perfume, we’ve got the products that will certainly make you dazzle in the meadow like our beloved Edward. Read More »

It’s the Holidays! Time for giving fabulous gifts to everyone in your life. But, crap, we’re in a recession and we’re poor college students to boot. So here’s a trick to put a little glamour in your loved ones’ lives without breaking your piggy bank.

Holiday season means beauty gift sets – a box jammed packed with fabulous high end makeup at a deep discount. So here’s a list of great gift sets that make a great gift, even when you break them up. You can cross a bunch of people of your list just by splitting up these sets and giving one product to each person on your list. Or group two or three items to give a whole look for just a little dough.

Bare Escentuals Bare Pleasures Eye Shadow Set - Sephora.com
9 Gifts for $48 ($99 value)

Bare Essentuals has fantastic loose eye shadows that women of all ages adore. This set has NINE different shades. You can give one to your mom, aunts, suitemates, and nieces still leaving a few shades leftover to keep for yourself. You can even pair the colors off to create custom eye shadow duos to add a personal touch. Read More »

[Make-up is wonderful, but it can also be confusing. There are so many shades and colors and sheens and reasons to wear it, that a girl can get completely lost attempting to find what fits her face best. What’s the best blush color for a redhead? How do you really put on lip-liner? Is there such a thing as too much eyeshadow?

In this weekly series, makeup expert Ali will use her makeup know-how to teach us all how to look flawless in class, out at a party, or grabbing coffee with that cutie from Psych 101.]

In order for makeup to keep you looking fresh and beautiful you need to keep up with fresh products. Yes, it can be a sad day to throw out your favorite MAC eyeshadow because its time has expired, but it is necessary for your skin and your overall look (and feel). Below is some important information about how long your makeup should last, and how to stretch out its shelf life. And don’t worry - we won’t judge you if you hold a moment of silence for your favorite products whose time has come.

Mascara: With such close contact to your eyes, mascara is likely to acquire bacteria and, as a result, should be thrown out after 3 months. Don’t believe me? Smell it. Go on, do it. If the mascara is ready to go you’ll notice a different smell, not to mention the mascara will likely not go on as well. Throw it out!
Foundation: Liquid and condensed powder foundations will likely become cakey or cracked after 6 months to a year and then it’s time to toss em. Loose powder foundation will likely last a little longer. Similar rules apply to blush. Read More »

Hillary Clinton is officially Secretary of State.

This video makes me laugh.

How to party with no money.

Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale have the cutest family ever.

Who is gonna die on tonight’s Gossip Girl!?

Make your own bath bombs. A great holiday gift!

Ashlee Simpson baby pics worth $2 mill? I need to have babies.

Hungover? The Benefit Primpcess eye primping kit will fix that right up for ya.

Everything I learned, I learned in Kindergarden...

Mary Kate Olson weighs over 100. Naturally, she must be pregnant.

Today is World AIDs Day. What can you do to help? 

The holidays are the best time to get great beauty bundles for your best girlies, or - umm - yourself. What could be better than getting the best makeup brands at the best prices? Adding a little shimmer to your holiday look could never hurt, and these beauty kits will help you create the perfect look for the year to come. Even better, you can break them down and give the individual components out to lots of people (now that’s some smart shopping!).

Below are some of the best beauty bundle deals out there right now. I’d just wait until the lines die down at the mall (or stick to online shopping) to get these; you don’t want to end up like that Wal-mart employee.…

The Sephora Brand Ultimate Blockbuster: This amazing kit includes 84 eyesshadow colors (both cream and powder) and 60 lip glosses. Also included in this mega make-up kit are blushes, face powders, and brushes. Customer reviews rate the $50 kit at 4 stars, making it a great deal. While some reviewers complain about poor makeup quality, overall I find it hard to complain about such a diverse kit. While you may not find bright blue to be useful on a daily basis, I assure you it will come in handy one day for an 80s party.

Bare Escentuals: Bare Pleasures Kit- This kit includes 9 Bare Minerals eye shadows in neutral and bright tones. These shadows are blendable and easily layerable. They are also easy to convert into eye-liners with a touch of liner-sealant. If you’re an even bigger Bare Minerals fan, I would suggest checking out Nordstrom’s exclusive Bare Escentuals Ultimate Indulgence Collection. This collection is exclusive to Nordstrom and features 20 eye and face powders. These hues, ranging in color intensity, are a $200 value at only $75! That makes it quite easy to justify picking up one for a friend (and yourself.) Read More »