Beauty Unbiased

The results are in for the 2013 Total Beauty Awards. Recognizing product favorites in 87 categories ranging from hair, face, and nails to bath and body, Total Beauty opened up voting to consumers for the month of March to select the winning products. This is peer pressure you’ll want to give in to; check out how your favorite products ranked or discover a new favorite. [Total Beauty]

Clarins is partnering with FEED Projects and Macy’s to make cosmetic retail history with the ‘gift with a purpose’ program. Between April 10-20 at Macy’s, shoppers will receive a lot more than the average ol’ gift with purchase. While shoppers will be gifted six deluxe samples and a cosmetics bag as reward for their purchase, Clarins will also donate $1 to an anti-hunger group with each purchase of two or more Clarins items. The amount will provide 10 school meals and hopefully light a philanthropic spark for consumers and companies alike. [NY Times]

Taylor Swift, best known for her long blond hair, stealing your
imaginary celebrity boyfriend, and lots of dark eyeliner bared the
‘windows to her soul’ sans eyeliner for a recent magazine cover.
We’re feeling this bright eyed and bushy tailed version of the singer. [BellaSugar] 

Sweet news for the Marc Jacobs’ empire has been announced on the designer’s 50th birthday. Honey will be Marc Jacobs new fragrance, due out in August 2013. The bottle will be bedazzled with bees and polka dots and has “top notes of pear, fruity punch and juicy mandarin; a heart of orange blossom, peach nectar and honeysuckle, and a drydown of honey, golden vanilla and smooth woods”. Honey will be available just a month before Marc Jacobs’ color cosmetics collection launches in Sephora. [WWD]

[Video link: http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2013/04/02/ian-somerhalder-josie-maran-cosmetics-model-citizen/] 

What do you get when you combine Ian Somerhalder’s baby blues and footage of him with adorable puppies? Hopefully folks lining up to purchase a limited edition line of Josie Maran’s argan oil bestsellers. Commemorating Earth Day, 10% of the funds raised will go towards building an Animal Sanctuary.  [PeopleStyleWatch]

Described as both ‘Kool Aid’ and ‘Glo Worm’ inspired, Dior is targeting your inner child with the new ‘Nail Glow’ polish collection. Wow, remember Glo Worms? Once you’ve returned from your flood of neon tinted childhood memories, check out the transparent, shiny polish that promises to be low maintenance with its “subtle pigment pay off”.

[The Cut, Refinery29] 

How does a Vogue editor curate her makeup bag? With a little help from a beauty concierge, naturally. New beauty service PSBTY is available to editors and the public as well to help shop for new products without the hassle of a makeup counter or sorting through Sephora testers. After a 30 minute phone consultation, a plethora of beauty products that fit your needs are sent to your home for free, with same day delivery available in LA and NYC. You only pay for products that you keep, and you can take full credit for the perfect lip color they’ll help you discover, though telling your friends you used a beauty concierge may make for a better story. [Vogue]     

Drew Barrymore took part in beauty banter peppered with her own sage advice at the Lucky Fashion and Beauty Blogger Conference. While discussing her Flower Beauty line with a room full of bloggers, she told the crowd that “life is too short not to be bold,” while talking about the colors available in her cosmetics line. We suspect a deeper meaning to the statement. In true Drew fashion, she also told conference attendees that “happiness is the best makeup any woman can wear.” [E! Online]

Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa is launching a skin care line to bring their spa treatments from their Red Door to your door this summer. A total of 43 products will be available to purchase at Red Door Spas across the country, allowing you a chance to stockpile products for the next at home spa night you’ve been meaning to plan. [Wall Street Journal]

Curious what a facial worth $800 includes? The price tag on aesthetician Melanie Simon’s facial includes a slathering of plant stem cells, a “lawn irrigator with tiny needles for the face”, a sleep inducing electro-current machine, and products from Circ-Cell, the skin care line backed by Justin Timberlake’s mother. Suit and tie not included. [The Cut]

Staffed by former editors of Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire, Never Underdressed, a UK-based fashion and beauty site, plans to merge magazine quality with a high powered digital experience when it launches in May 2013. Editor Carrie Tyler says that unlike the small staff and even smaller budgets magazines give their online departments, “the focus of my brilliantly high caliber team is purely on the digital product”. The welcome page alone will leave you hypnotized. [Fashionista]

Home Shopping Network (HSN) and Swarovski have teamed up to launch what promises to be a very sparkly new fragrance and makeup assortment. Aura by Swarovski solid perfume comes in a crystal pendant and leaves a luminous glow on the skin. The six lipstick shades in the collection contain “micronized Swarovski crystals that capture and collect the light”, giving us an opportunity to live out Rihanna’s advice to shine bright like a, umm … crystal. [HSN]

birchbox:

We love surfing Heather Walczuk’s blog, Beauty Unbiased, for her smart and on-point makeup reviews, pretty photos and her upbeat insight. The resident New Yorker always has great tips for making the most out of your products, which is why we’re excited that this week she’s sharing tips about her fave summer finds, makeup-artists must-haves, and how to get a gorgeous top knot.

It’s become inevitable lately that when I mention my blog, I’m asked about my favorite beauty products. Of course, then I’ll suddenly blank on the name of my new favorite mascara that I’ve just tweeted about. When social anxiety kicks in, I drop-kick it back to my new acquaintance by asking for their personal favorite beauty picks. See how I did that? Reverse beauty psychology. I steal their favorite beauty ideas and they leave feeling good about having shared their knowledge with me. It’s the main reason I love Birchbox—new beauty finds every month with minimal work on my part! That’s what I call a win-win.

Here are four of my favorite summer beauty discoveries that I’ve borrowed from other people:

1. Benefit’s Benetint: While Benetint has been around forever, I had an aversion to trying stains for a long time. But since I kept hearing friends rave on and on about it, I decided to give it a shot. It leaves a rosy glow that lasts all day but feels so lightweight.

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birchbox:

We love surfing Heather Walczuk’s blog, Beauty Unbiased, for her smart and on-point makeup reviews, pretty photos and her upbeat insight. The resident New Yorker always has great tips for making the most out of your products, which is why we’re excited that this week she’s sharing tips about her fave summer finds, makeup-artists must-haves, and how to get a gorgeous top knot.

I’m all about the “humble brag” when I’ve discovered something before it gets big. That’s probably why I like to shop at vintage stores, frequent small, hidden restaurants, and watch independent films. But discovering smaller beauty brands isn’t always as easy. My indie beauty needs finally met their match at the HBA Global Expo, a beauty conference where editors handpicked 31 emerging beauty companies to be featured in a special exhibition called Splash Pavilion. Here are five of the up-and-coming beauty brands that you should be on the lookout for:

1. Karuna Skincare: I see better results for at home spa nights in your future. Karuna offers a collection of affordable yet luxurious cloth masks that trap serum deep in your pores. The newest product in their lineup is the Karuna Luxe Skin Restoring Mask, which hydrates and brightens skin.

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birchbox:

We love surfing Heather Walczuk’s blog, Beauty Unbiased„ for her smart and on-point makeup reviews, pretty photos and her upbeat insight. The resident New Yorker always has great tips for making the most out of your products, which is why we’re excited that this week she’s sharing tips about her fave summer finds, makeup-artists must-haves, and how to get a gorgeous top knot.

Photo Credit: Photography by Tim at Ronca Productions, Marisa Nicole Weddings and Events

Ever wonder how stars manage to keep their makeup flawless on the red carpet? No one knows how to keep a look fresh in the hot weather better than celebrity makeup artists. Tina Turnbow, whose clientele includes stars like Claire Danes and Brooke Shields to name a few, chatted with me about the affordable beauty tricks she uses. It’ll help ensure you have a flawless face throughout your wedding day or your friends’ wedding day. (Hey, us serial bridesmaids have to be photographed, too!)

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