A Drugstore Version of Touche Eclat?!

Neutrogena's Healthy Skin Brightening Eye Perfector is packaged and marketed similarly to YSL's Touche Eclat, which got my hopes up that it might be a drugstore dupe.  I wasn't expecting perfection but Neutrogena's eye brightener is a fourth of the price of YSL's so I definitely wanted to try it out.

It worked really well underneath my eyes.  I think I may have purchased the wrong shade, but it did a good job of concealing my undereye circles anyway.  It's a little more matte and not nearly as light reflecting as Touche Eclat, though.  The product's downfall was when I used the Eye Perfector to cover up some redness and other discolorations on my face.  It just didn't seem to work anywhere but my undereye area.  Since I like to use Touche Eclat as an all-over concealer, the fact that the Eye Perfector didn't work the same way was a little disappointing.  Regardless, it did conceal and brighten my dark circles!  Overall, a pretty great deal.

Bridal/Photography Worthy Makeup

Photo by Jessica Brown of MOONBelle Photography

With all the stressful details to obsess over on your wedding day, why worry about your makeup too?  Of the married friends I polled, the most frequent bridal makeup concerns were how to control oil and shine, how often it would need touch-ups, and whether it would look good in photographs.  Many brides opt to have makeup professionally applied for the big day, but it's also possible to (gasp!) apply your own makeup, look just as amazing, and save a little extra cash.  Here are a few DIY tips to ensure you'll look (and stay) gorgeous on your wedding day!   

• One of the easiest yet most important steps to controlling oil and shine is to start with a primer before applying any other makeup.  Smashbox's Photo Finish Foundation Primer Light is specially formulated to mattify your skin, which is exactly what you want for shine control and also keeps your makeup in place for the rest of the day.

• For foundation, you should avoid mineral makeup.  It has more of a tendency to reflect light, which is great for every day wear but can appear too shiny in photographs.  A liquid foundation with medium coverage that's oil-free will be perfect for covering any imperfections without looking too cake-y.  Make Up For Ever's HD Invisible Cover Foundation is popular with makeup artists, but I've also been hearing good things about CoverGirl's NatureLuxe Silk Foundation if you want a cheaper option.

• Blush is another key element of picture-worthy makeup application.  Even if you don't normally wear blush, it will prevent you from appearing too washed out in pictures.  Again, any product with shimmer isn't going to photograph well so you'll want something matte.  Laura Mercier's Second Skin Cheek Color comes in a variety of natural looking shades and lasts forever.

Photo by Jessica Brown of MOONBelle Photography
 Makeup by Laura Griffin of Applied Glamour 

• Your eyes will look best if you keep your eye makeup soft, classic, and simple.  Use a grey or brown eyeliner pencil to line the top of your lashline only for the most natural, wide eyed look.  Smashbox makes beautiful photography-worthy eyeshadow trios to take all the guesswork out of coordinating shades.  On Stage and Multi-Flash are lovely natural colors and will give the illusion of an effortless, no-makeup look.  Like "Oh, yes, my eyes are this bright and lovely on their own!"  Finish with a waterproof version of your favorite mascara.

• If you really want to wear false eyelashes, avoid the long strips.  Those can lead to massive mishaps, as they have a tendency to come unglued in the most obvious way possible.  Instead cut them in half or use the individual lashes toward the outer corners of your eye, and make sure to use waterproof glue!  You could even have semi-permanent lashes professionally applied, which will last about ten days.

•  To make sure your lipcolor lasts, start with a lip primer.  A lipliner pencil just a few shades darker than your natural skintone will also help keep your lipstick in place.  Use a lip brush to fill in with your lipstick, blot, add one more coat, and blot again.  Your lipstick won't budge!  Lipstick withstands better than gloss and looks better in pictures, by the way.  Don't dismiss lipstick!  

• Finally, make sure your maid of honor or photographer has some blotting papers on hand just in case your makeup smudges or your face begins to shine.  Keep a compact mirror and your lipcolor handy for touch ups as well.

• Most important of all, enjoy your wedding!  Don't worry about your makeup for the rest of the day.  You look gorgeous!  Cheers!





Best Packaging

There's something special about using products with amazing packaging.  From simple elegance to retro fun to authentically vintage, here are some companies that package their products uniquely in addition to the top notch products contained within:


Outrageous and Fun

TheBalm uses clever retro inspired packaging to house their many powders with equally clever and almost outrageous names.  Hot Mama! and Cabana Boy, for example, are two different pink powders with a little bronzer added.  Their Overshadow finishing powders for eyes are vials that feature gorgeous pinup girls on the lid plus names like "If You're Rich, I'm Single!"  The lipstick line is titled Read My Lips and coordinates newsprint packaging with shade names like "Scoop" and "Classifieds".  Adorable!

Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity

Philosophy products are packaged elegantly and simply, which makes a statement of its own.  Their perfumes and skincare prominently feature positive, uplifting words like "hope" and "grace".  Their delicious smells-like-the-real-thing shower gel/shampoo/bubble bath combos come in scents like Margarita and Vanilla Birthday Cake and also include recipes for the real thing right on the label in a stylized serif font.   


Authentically Vintage

Besame Cosmetics is a modern company seeking to emulate products women used in the 1930s and 1940s, but using natural ingredients.  Thier makeup is contained in lovely gold and red tubes and compacts that look as fancy and special as the product within.  One particularly standout product is the eye and lip liners.  They're dual sided with two different coordinating shades on either end, so it's like getting two for the price of one.  Product names include Souffle foundation, Sweetheart lip balm, Voluptuous lipstick, and Cashmere powder.  So glamorous!