Saturday At Sephora

What's flying off the shelves at Sephora.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND BOOK OF SHADOWS! OH HOW MUCH WE WANT THIS!

Fri, 01/22/2010 - 7:49pm

Hello ladies, this is Eleni about to break some fascinating news.
Friday is a magical day. It's the day that responsibility ends and fun starts. It's the day that people are allowed to wear stupid clothes at work (unless you work for megsmakeup.com and you can wear stupid clothes every day!) It's also the day that you might decide to turn off your computers for the rest of the weekend, but I sure hope you won't cause then you'll miss out on what I'm about to announce. Do I have your attention? You're all familiar with Alice in Wonderland, right? Some of you love it, some of you are scared by it - I sure am. But we all are fascinated by it in some way. So is Urban Decay, that just launched its Limited Edition Disney Alice in Wonderland inspired Book of Shadows!
Inspired by Tim Burton's film that's scheduled for release in March 2010, Urban Decay made this book of 16 amazing eye shades! It also includes mini 24/7 eye pencils and eye shadow Primer Potion. The limited edition palette opens up to a pop-up scene of Alice and her journey through the mushroom forest! How can any woman in her sane mind not want to own this?! So ladies, here's the scoop:

A little birdie told us Sephora was going to start taking phone orders tomorrow for the Alice in Wonderland Palette! They launched it last Friday and it sold out within hours! There are representatives at Sephora available from 6am to 9pm PST and the phone number you need to call is 1-877-SEPHORA

Hope you'll make your call on time and won't miss out on this!
Have a great, magical weekend!

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Your rating: None Average: 4.8 (134 votes)

MY FIRST MAKEUP

Sat, 10/03/2009 - 1:39pm

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Kate2004rock here! My first makeup was a Tinkerbell set with a translucent powder a gawdy-pink lipstick and some rose-oil perfume. I got it with some dress up clothes sometime around the age of four. A few years later I got a new makeup palette with all kinds of "fun" colors of eyeshadow (teal, orange, hot pink) and those little lipsticks that stack like legos. My mom just HATED when I wore the stuff out of the house...to school, on airpline trips, wherever. She told me I "wasn't" old enough. At age 9, I began buying Wet 'n' Wild nail polishes (which, at the time, were only 99 cents) at the grocery store when my mother was back in dairy checking dates on gallons of milk. I wore green and blue (school colors!) on alternating fingers for about tree years! Eventually she even bought me some powder (for covering breakouts) and a lip pencil at a friend's Mary Kay party that I got roped into attending. The older girls at school always had their free-gift clinique bags out at lunch or between classes to reapply. And I so just wanted to be like them.

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Your rating: None Average: 4.7 (123 votes)

THE INS AND OUTS OF EYELINER!

Sat, 08/29/2009 - 10:59am

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Katie here bringing you the tips for perfect eyes!

Eyeliner (n.) - a cosmetic for the eyelids, usually applied in a thin line close to the lashes to accentuage the eyes. It's such a simple idea, but I really think that eyeliner can be one of the trickiest cosmetic beasts to master. Pencil? Gel? Liquid? Powder? Thin? Thick? Cat-eye? Clown-dots below and above the lids (I've seen it, its weird by they do it)? With a brush or without? Waterproof or regular? There are so many gosh darn decisions! This week, I'm all about simplifying this monumental task in our daily regime.

Generally,I do think the thinner and more natural looking your eyeliner, the better. It's not supposed to be the color on your eyes (that's what shadow is for) its just supposed to highlight the shape of your eyes. Also, NEVER line the lower lashes with a liquied or a harshley colored pencil. If you absolutely MUST put something under your lower lashes, make sure that it is very thin, and very well blended/smudged. As a rule, though, lining the lower lashes makes your eyes look smaller and older.

Pencils - probably the simplest of the tools to use and master. They are also the easiest to correct when you goof up! They come in a variety of shapes, but I still find that SKINNY eyeliner pencils are the easiest to control. Generally, the gel-based formulas last a little bit longer (in terms of hours of wear) and they don't dry up or get crusty like some of the old school pencils. Though Kohl formulas are a good option too. I love:
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencils: They are a creamy gel formula that comes in lots of wonderful (and practical colors). They can be easily blended for about 30 seconds after you apply them, and they stay put all day...especially if you have an eye-primer on underneath. And...waterproof!
Makeup Forever AquaEyes: Really, these are along the same lines as the urban decay pencil. They are also waterproof, they come in a different variety of shades than the Urban Decay pencils so they're really on par with them as well!
Sephora Nano liners: these are a good option if you really want to play with some different colors, they're only $5, but they're not waterproof and you only get about half of the amount of products as standard sized pencil so I'm not sure that it's worth it if you already know what you like as far as eyeliners go.

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Your rating: None Average: 4.8 (136 votes)

ODE TO LIP BALM!

Fri, 07/31/2009 - 11:28pm

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Ode to a Lip Balm -

Oh Lip Balm, My Lip Balm--
How much do I need thee? Let me count the ways,
For a Day in the Sun - to keep from parchment
At night before bed, on the bedside table in my apartment.
To smooth out my lipstick, to keep me from looking old.
I love you in every color - clear, pink, red, peach, or gold.

Katie here! I really feel that this essential, foundational, staple of a beauty item gets really overlooked here at Meg's Makeup! Guilty--all of us! I use lipbalm everyday in so many ways! In the morning before lip color to moisturize! In class, to kill my boredom. When outdoors (with SPF) to protect from the sun! And before bed to hydrate and more! So, today, I bestow upon you my top five favorite lip balms - and you guessed it! Find them all at your favorite Sephora location!

Caudalie Lip Conditioner- ($12) - Shouldn't surprise you that this makes my list. There's a Caudalie product on ALL of my lists, and in my routine somewhere everyday. (I LOVE it!). Anyhow, this lipbalm is really smoothing, not gunky. It is parapen, sulfate, synthetic dye and petrochemical free. (Read: NATURAL) Rise Bran makes the waxy smoothing component. Sunflower oil hydrates and protects. Olive, grapeseed, and apricot oils for the antioxidant components. It doesn't have a strong smell, either - so it makes a great all-around balm.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment w/SPF 15- ($22.50). This geniously packaged (has a screw on lid!) lip treatment is super luxrious feeling. You get that super-hydrated feeling of Vaseline, without the oiliness of a petroleum product. It smells and tastes like, what else, brown sugar! Sweet and tart blackcurrant oil cushions the lips with essential plumping fatty acids, while antioxidant grapeseed polyphenols and vitamins A, C, and E provide extra protection. Also available in a tinted red shade for a hint of color!

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Your rating: None Average: 4.6 (106 votes)

THEBALM! TWO-TIMER MASCARA!

Fri, 07/17/2009 - 8:41pm

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Meg here! I am having a birthday party tomorrow night. My birthday is Monday and who wants to party on a Monday? One of my guy friends can't be there so I went out with him last night. I raged! I was like a caged animal released (its been a tough month.) I really was naughty and really wild.

I had to get myself to Costco today with my friend John and we had to get some party supplies. I didn't put any makeup on except my moisturizing sunscreen. I barely had the energy to drag a comb through my hair. I felt like death warmed over and headed to John's place to get the errands done.

John: Meg, wow! You look great. Really you look young and fresh faced. I think this is the best you've looked.

I am ready to beat him but then I realize something HE IS BEING SERIOUS

He goes on to tell me that I wear too much makeup and it just makes me look older. Solero and Megken have said the same thing to me pretty recently as well. I don't know if my new beauty routine should include me going out the night before and dancing on tables but HHmm something to think about I guess

This brings me to TheBalm Two Timer Mascara. My friend was just in town visiting me from the UK and he said "Are those your real lashes? They look real but are they those lash extension things?" They were my "real lashes" I had just used the "Marcus Lashalot" end with is the fuller end of the dual wand. It is great becuse it actually gets really skinny in the middle of the lash wand to collect gumped up extra clump so your lashes just look long and full-but they're REAL no extenstions needed.

During the day, I absolutey love the other end of the mascara "Johnny Finetune" it lets me be precise and it looks like I'm not even wearing any mascara. It just really makes my eyes POP. It's just a sexy girl next door hotness. Apparently lately, I've been looking like I should be on the show The Girl Next Door!

I love that it is duo-sides because as women, we need A. Options B. Cosmetic Case Space! I really grab for this little Two-Timer constantly.

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Your rating: None Average: 4.7 (73 votes)

PUT THE TWEEZERS DOWN!

Sun, 07/05/2009 - 3:17pm

We got a little thrown off with the holiday so Katie is bringing you Saurdays at Sephora on Sunday! Hope your 4th was wonderful! Love, Meg

Kate here! I've been there and I know it's hard to do. I've watched countless early 90210 episodes and I know that Kelly and Donna were 'thin by all meanings of the word'. But, my friends, it's 2009 and it's time to make a clean break, get sober, and put the tweezers down! What starts as a "simple" pluck of a single stray transforms into Jackson Pollock random pop art. And our eyebrows are the sufferers for it! Thicker (or thick!) brows have been back for a while and personally, I really don't think they ever go out of style (Hello, Audrey Hepburn!)

I bring you photographic evidence to show you that I learned the hard way--but luckily before it was too late. Above and right you see my senior picture (age 17) in the fall of 2003. Excuse the bad eyeliner and acrylic nails but notice just how thin and uneven and unnatural my eyebrows were! I had a sickness and I didn't know what a real eyebrow should look at. About two years later, while I was working in a small cosmetics boutique in Oxford, Mississippi, the BrowGal on hand gave me an intervention! She told me STOP! Only pluck the ones that are really stray! And never from above the brow! Just fill in with a little powder/pomade/gel if you please! As you can see by July of 2008 I had truly recovered - and before it was too late. It never is good when you have to DRAW on your eyebrows later in life. They never look real!

- Hold a pencil or straight age beside your nose and straight up perpendicular to the inner corner of your eye. Your brow should begin outside of this line and you can pluck any and all unibrow wannabes in between!
- Extend your pencil from the outer corner of your eyes at a 45 degree angle. Your brows should stop inside this line, so you don't want them drawn or grown out to your temples. That's weird!
- If your brow hairs are particularly long, comb them all up with a brow comb or a clean toothbrush sprayed with a little hairspray. Only trim the ones that go above your "horizon" line.

My brows are actually a little bit sparse towards the center so I do fill them in a bit every day. Below are a few of my favorite brow products for you to pick and choose!

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Your rating: None Average: 4.7 (84 votes)

DECLEOR 40% OFF AT SEPHORA.COM ! WOOHOO!

Sat, 06/27/2009 - 10:04am

Katie here! Get it while it's hot and 40% off! Decleor Sale! - Saturdays at Sephora

I wish I had stumbled upon this deal earlier - it only lasts until midnight Tuesday! 40% off all Decleor products at Sephora.com! Decleor was "among the first to introduce essential oils into skincare (over 30 years ago!), Decleor combines unique and natural products with beauty-enhancing techniques for holistic aromatherapy treatments. A beautiful marriage of science and nature is the secret behind their innovative products, which awaken the senses, offer effective results, and promote total body harmony and balance." Once again, the French really get 'er done!Here's my top 5 picks from Decleor to make you even more beautiful.

Tonifying Lotion - One of the most gentle and softening toners that I have ever used. It's got a faintly sweet smell and is really great to soothe your tired skin after you wash your makeup off in the evening.
Phytopeel Natural Exfoliating Lotion - A great exfoliator that is gentle enough to use every day. Little clay bits act as the scrubbers to smooth your skin gorgeous. Essential oils of Marjoram, Lemon, Lavender, and Thyme smooth, soothe, and brigthen you to a glowing fresh complexion. Perfect for those with sensitive skin who still want to slough off the gunk.

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Your rating: None Average: 4.2 (36 votes)

SMASHBOX! HALO PERFECTING POWDER!

Sat, 06/20/2009 - 1:46pm

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Katie here! By request. (Because I'd never want to leave one of our girls hanging!) I think we can all concur that Dean and Davis Factor, founders of Smashbox Cosmetics, sons of the amazing late Max Factor, are earthbound deities. Good-looking and inventors of amazing makeup! When the Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder was first tested out on HSN they sold out in minutes! I got to wear it around one day last summer, before they launched it in Sephora last fall. It's definitely a light, smoothing powder, great for setting makeup or wearing alone on a low-key day. It has an "advanced formulation of pure-gold, 48 minerals and 11 amino acids" to provide you with amazing anti-aging benefits. But it's only a powder! However, I think this product really hast its pros and cons.

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Your rating: None Average: 3.4 (50 votes)

KORRES SHOWERGELS AND BUTTERS!

Sat, 06/13/2009 - 4:17pm

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Kate2004rock here! I went to see the new Nia Vardalos film last night "My Life in Ruins." It was super cute, it made you laugh out loud, and having been to Greece before, it made my heart ache a little. I loved Greece--the food, the wine, the yogurt, the beaches. It's fabulous. That's why today, I wanted to reaffirm my everlating devotion to Korres, the Greek homeopathic line started in a pharmacy in Athens. There are no synthetic ingredients in this natural line which ranges from soaps to sunscreen to skincare to slick lipglosses (I needed the alliteration!) and their full makeup line. All Korres products are free of sulfates, parabens, synthetic fragrances and dyes, petrochemicals and GMOs.

Their newest editions to their line are the Jumbo sizes of your favorite shower gel and body butter scents. Recession-friendly prices with light-summery scents sure to transport you from suburbia to the Cyclades (And the alliterations continue!!). $19.50 buys you 13 oz. of showergel or $29 for just under 8oz. of body butter.

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Your rating: None Average: 4.2 (46 votes)

DR. BRANDT BLEMISHES NO MORE INTENSOLUTION

Sat, 05/23/2009 - 11:55am

brandt Kate here!Obviously, I was cocky. I really only suffered the occasional cyclical blemish as a teenager. I thought, "Gosh! I am so lucky for my clear sking! I really am going to obey the complexion gods and take as best of care of my skin as possible! Then by about 22 - which I think is safely out of adolescence - the dirty acne bomb exploded on my face! More than 10 breakouts at a time! All over my face! Without end! It's just really frustrating - I feel like I'm being punished!

But last week, my old boss and friend Mary from Dr. Brandt showed me the new Blemishes No More line from Dr. Brandt. There are cleansing pads, the "toner" intensoltuion, the spot blotter & concealer, a redness relief serum, and an oil-free hydrator.

Even in less than a week, I've cleared up dramatically just by integrating the IntenSolution into my skincare regimen! $35 buys you 3.7 ounces - which Mary said should last 2-3 months. It "effectively clears blemishes without over-drying skin. It overs intensive acne treatment for race or other parts of the body where breakouts occur." Salicylic acid sluffs of dead skin and grime to keep from further congesting the skin. The special Palmitoul Hexapeptide-26 helps to regulate and control the breakouts. Plus it's really cooling and soothing to the skin - sort of like in a Sea-Breeze kind fo way - but much less hash!

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Your rating: None Average: 4.4 (22 votes)