Photo via Vogue.com
We all woke up to watch Rihanna do her makeup for Vogue, but we might’ve also scored a sneak preview at what Fenty might be launching next.
The songstress-turned-beauty-mogul, who’s also on the glossy’s latest cover, appeared in its Beauty Secrets get-ready-with-me style video series. The playful tutorial featured Riri going from bare-faced to “ready for the club” in a mere 10 minutes using her own eponymous products.
Photo courtesy of Natalie Irish.
I know I’m not the only one curious about celebs and influencers’ favorite beauty buys as well as who and what shape their view of beauty in the biz.
I’ve always believed that makeup is not just a way to express ourselves but also serves as a medium for artists to play with, especially when we’re talking about makeup maestros like Pat McGrath, Val Garland, Kabuki, and so many more. They not only create some of the most captivating and avant-garde looks that we see on magazine covers and runways all over the world but also help redefine what art and beauty are in the process. So needless to say, along with a slew of industry insiders, I also follow plenty of artists in other mediums whether it’s in ink (like comic and tattoo artists), digital (graphic designers and illustrators), or, in the case of Natalie Irish, lipstick. Yup, you read that right.
I first learned of Irish’s work when she partnered with Urban Decay in 2013 to celebrate the launch of the brand’s Revolution Lipsticks (which are now known as the Vice lipsticks) and even got the chance to interview her myself. By then, she’d already received loads of buzz on her beauty-inspired body of work, even making an appearance on Conan back in 2012! Browsing through the portraits of celebrities and still lifes rendered in creamy shades of fuchsia, plum, and, of course, ruby red, I was mesmerized by how detailed they looked, especially when I discovered that Irish doesn’t use a brush. Instead, she uses her pout to paint, which she told me requires a lot of breaks and loads of lip balm. I quickly became a fan of hers and have followed her on social media ever since.
And because she is a lip color connoisseur, I thought it only fitting to ask her to show her stash this week to find out some of her favorite formulas as well as what she wears when she steps away from the canvas, who her inspirations are, and if there might be a lipstick line of her own in the future (stay tuned for that!).
On her approach to beauty and style: “Usually, I wear zero or minimal makeup along with Star Wars or band t-shirts and jeans with Vans or boots. My style is a little punk, a little grunge, with a dash of hobo….but that’s just everyday stuff. I can also go the complete opposite with full face and crazy costumes with tons of jewelry. My style is all about FUN. I’ve had every hair color under the sun, even shaved it all off back in college, but it’s been some shade of blue/teal for the past five years or so.”
On her biggest beauty idols: “John Waters. First of all, he’s brilliant and eccentric and makes ridiculously entertaining films. He proves that it doesn’t take much to create an iconic look. He’s been working that pencil-thin mustache since the beginning of time and is forever loyal to the same Revlon pencil he uses to fill it in. Find something that works and own it.
“Then, on the other end of the makeup spectrum is one of my all-time favorites, the iconic, RuPaul Charles. Full on transformative! Makeup can be soooo much fun! And he truly shows that you can make yourself up to be whomever you want, inside and out. Also, RuPaul has the best sense of humor ever, a common quality that most of my favorite people possess!
“I love the shift in the way people view cosmetics these days, and I think a lot of it is because of social media and the popularity of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Makeup used to be primarily seen as that stereotypical 1950s idea that it is something to hide behind. Most of us still know someone that won’t go out without their ‘face on,’ or their partner has never seen them without makeup. But that viewpoint is fading away; we’re learning to love ourselves a little more, accept out flaws, and embrace the artistic side of cosmetics. It’s about transformation and expression, and like most things in this world, it shouldn’t be taken too seriously. That’s definitely one of the things I love about drag — you can be anyone! I love that you see more and more these days women and men are painting their faces because it is fun, not because it’s something to hide behind.”
On her first beauty memory: “My mother gave me a sticky, opaque lip gloss when I was in 7th grade, Avon Peach Pie. I tentatively started wearing a thin layer of it, almost like a stain. A girlfriend of mine asked to borrow it one day and slathered a thick, bright layer on. It looked amazing. I realized there are different ways to wear things, and you won’t know until you experiment with it.”
Mehron “Mini-Pro” Professional Makeup Kit.
On the first beauty buy: “A Mehron stage makeup kit in high school. I think that might explain a lot…”
On the best beauty advice she’s received: “Mother always said, ‘If you want to get ready in a hurry, all you need is red lipstick and a pair of shades.’ She rocked that look a lot when my brothers and I were growing up. Guess we kept her pretty busy. That woman has never been afraid of putting bright colors on her face and always wears them with confidence.”
On her favorite beauty tip to share: “Use things in ways they aren’t intended. I use lipsticks as cream blush almost every day. Colors can be blended and products can be thinned out for different effects. Nail polish color is a little off from what you wanted? Pour in a few drops of a different bottle and make it exactly what you want. I don’t think my Mamaw ever owned a bottle of polish that she didn’t alter a little bit, and her nails were always gorgeous. [The] main thing, you gotta play and practice. I like to try new makeup looks in the evenings before I wash my face for the day. That’s the best time to experiment. You don’t want to attempt a new multi-color, cut crease, winged eye look right before you’re about to go out!”
A peek at some of Natalie’s go-to lipsticks.
Courtesy of Natalie Irish.
On her favorite lipsticks: “I paint with a lot of stage makeup, Ben Nye and Mehron. The cream colors are super pigmented, and they have all the colors of the rainbow. I worship Urban Decay lipsticks. Every color, every finish, all perfection. On days when I do a lot of painting (most days), my lips tend to hurt and dry out so I only wear balms, clear or tinted. On days when my lips are feeling normal or when I’m going out, I’ll wear all kinds of brands and colors. I have quite the lipstick collection!
“This is just some of my lipstick stash. I have everything from high-end to dollar store, matte to glitter. This pic doesn’t even show any of my stage makeup…that’s another container entirely. Not to mention the boxes upstairs….there’s basically lipstick EVERYWHERE!”
On developing her own lipstick line:
“I have painted with lipstick I’ve made before and am currently working on my own line. It’s still in the early stages. I’m focusing on perfecting my formula at the moment and haven’t even made it to naming yet! I am a sucker for puns, so it should be….can you guess?…FUN.”
Check out Natalie’s favorite everyday beauty buys below:
Photo: CoverGirl via YouTube.
You might’ve spotted her as you scroll through Instagram or even signed up for her MA30Day Programs to build up your strength. But Massy Arias, better known as Mankofit, is moving beyond our social stream to take over our TV and newsstands as the face of CoverGirl’s latest launch, Flourish by Lash Blast Mascara, as part of its #IAmWhatIMakeUp campaign.
The personal trainer and model first found fitness as a way to work through her depression and found it to be a drug she couldn’t get enough of and spurred her to help others. According to Trimmed and Toned, Arias began making a splash on social media after setting up boot camps and workout classes in parks around New York City where they became popular through word of mouth and her Instagram. Her motivational posts, featuring tips on proper nutrition and technique as well as a variety of different workouts (like resistance training, calisthenics, yoga, high intensity interval training, and sprinting) for fans to try, built a following of millions and foster a community built on hard work and dedication to fitness goals, no matter what they were. And she has the opportunity to reach beyond the fitness community in her first video ad which was unveiled on Tuesday and that you can check out below.
Arias saw her partnership with CoverGirl as a way to not only continue to shake up beauty standards but also show how they can change their lives by taking care of themselves whether it’s with a workout or a swipe of mascara in the morning. “The standard of beauty is continuing to change; it starts with finding beauty in what sets you apart and owning it,” she captioned a sneak peek of the clip on Instagram. “Every milestone I hit makes me more humble than I was before.”
And every milestone hit should come with some reward! In fact, that need for self-care was what initially sparked the idea for the fresh formula in the first place. The mascara uses a blend of papaya, avocado, and coconut oils to nourish and condition while defining each lash and pumping up their volume for lashes that look lush and feel strong with no clumps or flakes to be found. Since the new mascara shouldn’t flake or smudge, I bet it would hold up well during an intense sweat session whether you’re working out with Arias’s program or doing your own thing. As long as you’re taking time for yourself, that’s all that should matter.
I receive a slew of samples, and when I find something I like, I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
Let’s face it; no one’s skin is perfect…unless we’re talking about Lupita Nyong’o because her’s is flaw-less! Whether it’s acne that pops up at the worst time, undereye circles that appear after an all-night Netflix binge, or uneven tone from scarring or a lack of sun protection, it can make us feel insecure.
Sure, there are plenty of pimple solutions on shelves, but they often take a few days to eliminate the acne and can leave some redness in its wake. And if you’re a picker like me — yes, I know — or regularly deal with hyperpigmentation, you’re often let with a dark reminder after the inflammation goes down. Not to mention, dark circles need more than just a cool set of spoons or an eye patch to disappear.
But while we wait for our skin to return to its homeostasis, many of us reach for a concealer to hide those blemishes and even out our tone. So you’re starting with a blank canvas wherever you go from there, whether it’s a couple of coats of mascara and a little lip balm or contouring and highlighting until you’ve sculpted a perfect visage. But not all concealers are created equal, as I’ve learned from testing a load of formulas. Some are amazing at eliminating the look of a zit, and others are better at brightening your undereyes.
Since concealers are a staple in every makeup maven’s kit, I’m sharing a few of the favorites that I return to when I need to hide any blemish I’m uncomfortable with or any undereye evidence of a late night. They pack enough pigment to get the job done but lie down smoothly enough to blend with the rest of my makeup seamlessly. Check them all out below!
Last Sunday was spent not only sipping and supping on Dos Caminos‘ amazing brunch menu but also perusing the shelves at Sephora in pursuit of its bevy of beauty-inspired enamel pins (VIB points well spent!). But as I was scoping out the shelves, I spotted a slew of shoppers applying tester lipsticks directly to their pouts, and in one instance, someone creating a smoky eye using a shadow from a tester palette (Insert pearl clutching gif here). As horrifying as all that sounds, new findings from Sitejabber, which specializes in customer ratings and reviews of businesses, might gross you out even more!
The review-aggregating site told PopSugar that it discovered that of its 24 swab tests taken from three anonymous beauty retailers, the average beauty tester has almost 200 times the bacteria of the average toilet seat! To compare, a beauty tester is about 20 times germier than your own cell phone, which a 2017 study found has over 17,000 bacterial gene copies on the phones of high school students. A toilet seat tends to have around 20 colony-forming units (CFU) or bacteria per square centimeter since they’re cleaned fairly frequently while cell phones and beauty testers don’t often receive the same treatment.
I seriously suggest keeping any test eye products as far away from your eye as possible (I’m talking to you random stranger I saw swiping on that test shadow!). Eyeliner was found to be the germiest of the bunch with 98,000 CFU, and mascara came in second on the gross factor with 32,000 CFU, which Sitjabber says is dirtier than a pet toy. And those germs can cause some serious illnesses beyond a bad breakout or pink eye, as PopSugar noted that a woman filed a lawsuit against Sephora in December claiming that she had contracted herpes from a sample. It’s a suit similar to the one MAC dealt with in 2013 when a woman claimed that she had also contracted the STI from a tube of Riri Woo lipstick during the star’s Diamonds tour.
But there are plenty of ways to stay safe while you swatch. First, carry a bottle of hand sanitizer in your bag so you can start and finish with a clean slate since our hands have loads of germs that can easily be transferred to everything you touch. Second, use new and clean applicators — they’re often readily available on the endcaps for shoppers to use when trying on the formulas. Third, keep the swatches to your hands and arms, not your face or near any broken skin to prevent any harmful bacteria and virus from entering the body, and you should be set. Keep it clean, folks!
Ever since we first watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, we’ve all dreamed of opening up a treat to discover we’ve won a golden ticket to win an amazing opportunity. And Becca Cosmetics’ newest makeup must is helping all of us to fulfill that childhood dream!
The brand recently released a limited edition highlighter exclusively available in-store and online at Sephora, aptly called Dreamsicle. The powder swirls peach and vanilla shimmer to create a warm glow. But that’s not all! Housed inside of 100 of the boxes are Glow Tickets — our Golden Tickets, if you will — that makeup mavens can exchange for a special gift from Becca Cosmetics, a brand rep exclusively revealed to Bustle. And two of those ticket holders will be chosen to win a trip with the company, so don’t be so eager to toss the box as soon as you get your hands on the highlighter. Though the location of the trip has yet to be revealed, I’ve got my fingers crossed for somewhere with surf, sand, and sunshine, so that highlighter can really pop!
So how do you score this trip for yourself? According to the above Instagram post, all you have to do is snap a selfie with you holding the Glow Ticket, explain what your Glow Mantra is and what it means to you, using the hashtags #BECCAGlowTicket and #BECCAContest, and tag who you’d want to be your +1 on the trip of a lifetime. But keep in mind that the contest is only open to US and Candian residents and submissions need to be received by 11:59 pm EST on May 31st, 2018 when the contest ends.
While I’m rooting for everyone vying for the incredible excursion, it’s not like you’re totally losing out even if you don’t win the trip. The tangerine-toned highlighter looks gorgeous on a variety of skin tones, but it looks especially beautiful on dark skin tones who often struggle to find highlighters that suit their shade. Plus, the citrus-inspired shimmer is the sweetest way to kick off your summer beauty routine whether you decide to rock it on your cheeks or even your lids. To those on the hunt for the Glow Tickets, may the odds be ever in your favor and let the games begin!
Photo via Walmart.com
Chances are that when you sign up for a subscription box — whether it’s for hot sauce, snacks, or beauty buys — you’re not going to get anything bigger than what is allowed through airport security. Aside from weighing down the box itself, scoring something full-sized can send the price of the subscription skyrocketing. But that’s not the case for Walmart which just announced the debut of its own line of beauty boxes!
Priced at $9.98 each, the Walmart Beauty Favorites Boxes offer some of its most popular must-haves for your eyes, lips, skin, curls, and more valued between $20-$40 with a mix of mini and full-sized products. Housed in electrically vibrant boxes, each handles a different beauty need whether it’s a dramatic eye look, a plush pout, gorgeously glowy skin, defined and frizz-free curls, or a way to clean up your beauty routine. But you’re not going to want to wait to pick one up while you shop since, according to Bustle, there’s a limited number of boxes available both online and at 3,000 store locations.
Photo: Marvel/Disney via YouTube.
Hold onto your popcorn, kittens! In the week leading up to the release of Avengers: Infinity War, Besame’s throwing down the gauntlet on cosmetic collaborations with a mini Marvel collection!
The brand made the surprise announcement in a livestream of its Agent Carter collection launch during Disneyland’s Dapper Day celebration. It’s an annual celebration at Disney parks where guests are invited to show off their “refined style from yesterday and today with fun accessories and events.” (Which my pal Misti, who also runs CousinsWhoDisney, told me about) The collection is modeled after the highly coveted Infinity Stones that we’ve seen pop up throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe that are tied to different aspects of the universe. And with Thanos having all of those all-powerful and brightly colored gems in hand, the universe is in for a world of hurt unless the Avengers and the Guardians of The Galaxy can save it.
Photo courtesy of Bite Beauty.
Taurus season has finally arrived, and Bite Beauty has already found a way to indulge: a new lipstick!
The brand has added another lipstick to its Astrology Amouse Bouche collection, and it just hit stores today! As with the others signs released so far, this limited-edition launch uses the signature traits of each sun sign to customize the color. While Aries had everyone seeing red with a fiery hue, Taurus taps into the sign’s element for a muted white-chocolate rose hue that the brand says is the perfect way to treat yo’self.
Thanks to Taurean’s penchant for earthly pleasures, a chocolate-inspired nude seems like a perfectly suited shade for the season. After all, Tara Greene, the astrologer who helped the brand select the shades, says, “[A]ll the finer things in life are essential to beauty-loving bulls.”
They’re the definition of “down to earth” as they’re known to be generous, dependable, ambitious, practical, independent, and reliable — basically, they’re the kind of people you always want to have in your support system. So it’s no wonder why Internet baes like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Channing Tatum, Dev Patel, Megan Fox, Henry Cavill, Rosario Dawson, and many more give us heart eyes.If you’re looking for one of your own, Greene says you can “find them running a florist shop, decorating and re-decorating their stylish abodes, or whipping up a delish new dish.” Yum!
Don’t expect this sultry nude to stick to shelves for long since Taureans love to treat themselves though makeup mavens will likely snap up this nude since it works for a slew of skin tones. With the shades sticking close to the signs’ most significant aspects, I expect to see something light and slightly shimmery for the airy Gemini in the next few weeks, but I also wouldn’t be surprised to see a shade that’s totally out-there, as the sign is known to do the unexpected (we’re looking at you Kanye!). We’ll just have to wait and see!
Photo courtesy of Susie Wang.
I know I’m not the only one curious about celebs and influencers’ favorite beauty buys as well as who and what shape their view of beauty in the biz.
I’ve always believed in happy accidents — you know, those seemingly innocuous events that become the catalyst for something bigger, something that sets you on a completely different path from what you originally thought. It could be a product with an unexpected benefit or (unfortunately) a bad reaction or a beauty look that you might’ve questioned while you played but makes a splash on social media (or IRL). That’s essentially what happened to Susie Wang, founder and chief creative officer of 100% PURE. She famously purchased a Vitamin C serum when she was a freshman at UC Berkeley that oxidized, lost its potency, and converted to free radicals — the very thing the serum was meant to prevent!
It set her on the path to several patents to help stabilize those vitamins to prevent that oxidation from occurring, which led to a slew of job offers from a number of beauty brands. But it also led to another happy accident when she knocked over a chemical that corroded the table she was working off of and was meant to be part of an eye cream! The incident not only pushed her to look into product development practices and eventually launch the brand. The brand has become an authority when it comes to natural beauty, thanks to its effective plant-based formulations, like their fruit-based color cosmetics, but also its cruelty-free commitment. Plus it’s even received a dose of star power thanks to the likes of Big Little Lies’ Shailene Woodley (I can hardly wait for season two, can you?!).
I’ve already fallen in love with the brand’s new Tomato Lycopene SPF 20 Moisturizer that offers a physical blocker without the same grey cast that I’ve experienced with other formulas. KillaCrystal also introduced me to their natural base and top coat polishes! And after getting a chance to chat with Wang to learn more about her beauty journey and her brand’s latest array of innovations, I had to ask her to be the latest to show her stash. Not only to help everyone clean up their act (hey, it’s Earth Month, after all) but also to discover the people who inspire her (and 100% Pure’s) purpose and swipe a few of her natural beauty secrets.
On her approach to style: “My approach to beauty is all about healthy, glowing skin and minimal makeup. My fashion style is very casual, classic and easy. I’m pretty low maintenance but still prefer mostly high-quality products.”
On her idols: “I don’t necessarily have any beauty idols; however, I have a huge passion for helping animals, which is why 100% Pure is entirely cruelty-free, and I’m inspired by women who are doing great things for animal rights. For example, I’m a big fan of Ingrid Newkirk, the founder of PETA. I also admire a woman named Yang XiaoYun who rescues dogs from the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China.”
On her first beauty memory: “My first beauty memory was wanting to buy a vitamin C serum so desperately that I skipped eating lunch for a week to buy it; however, once I did, the vitamin C serum oxidized. This was so disappointing but inspired me to figure out how to stabilize vitamins from oxidizing in skincare. My patent for this is what launched my career in the beauty industry.”
Photo: lola lenska via Pinterest
On her first beauty buy:“I bought my first beauty item when I was five years old, and it was a Rachel Perry strawberry lip balm. I was a child so I loved the fruit scent.”
On the best beauty advice she’s received: “Apply facial oil on damp skin to increase absorption.”
On her favorite beauty tip to share: “Visit steam rooms frequently and apply a facial mask while in the steam sauna.”
On her favorite beauty buys of 2018 (so far): “My favorite beauty buy has been the 100% Pure Retinol Restorative Overnight Balm. It gives me intense age correction plus deep moisture. We also have two great products coming out this month that I’m excited about — a purifying Charcoal Clay Cleanser and Tomato Lycopene SPF 20 Moisturizer.”
Check out Susie’s favorite beauty buys below: