Dynamic Duo: Vapour Organic Beauty

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Vapour Organic Beauty consists of high-performing natural products, made with 70 percent organic ingredients. The line is formulated without water or other fillers, which means they are super concentrated and enjoy a longer shelf life. Vapour only uses biodegradable ingredients and recyclable packaging in order to minimize their environmental footprint.

Two exceptional products from Vapour Organic Beauty are: Stratus Soft Focus Instant Skin Perfector and Atmosphere Soft Focus Foundation.

Vapour touts Stratus Soft Focus Instant Skin Perfector as the original organic BB Cream; a 3-in-1 moisturizer, primer and no-color foundation. Stratus Soft Focus Instant Skin Perfector is applied like a primer and leaves a smooth base for makeup application while achieving a natural soft satin finish. From the first application you will see a difference as it works instantly to blur imperfections, hydrate the skin and add radiance without a trace of residue. Vapour’s Light Reflective Technology immediately perfects the appearance of your skin – revealing a younger and fresh complexion.

*** In an independent study 8 out of 10 people who tried Stratus saw an immediate improvement in their skin tone and texture. Seven out of 10 people saw an immediate decrease in the appearance of lines, wrinkles and pores.***

Effortlessly achieve the look of radiant, healthy skin with Atmosphere Soft Focus Foundation. This buildable, medium-to-full coverage foundation delivers a flawless and luminous finish. The lightweight formula evens the complexion and instantly perfects the skin. Vapour’s Light Reflective Technology is used to blur the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and pores. Atmosphere Soft Focus Foundation feels extremly moisturizing and nourishing on the skin. Easy to apply, it blends beautifully into the skin and provides the perfect naturally healthy finish. Great for use in the colder months when skin looks dull and lackluster – this foundation will brings the skin back to life.

Both Stratus Soft Focus Instant Skin Perfector and Atmosphere Soft Focus Foundation are made with 70% Certified Organic ingredients and 30% natural mineral pigments & vitamins. Nourishes with Organic Pumpkin and Papaya complex and brightens skin with Organic Camellia.  Infused with Vapour’s face specific infusion of anti-inflammatory Frankincense, antioxidant Tulsi and moisturizing and calming Lotus flowers. All the performance of a luxury moisturizer and foundation with none of the chemicals.

Vapour Organic Beauty raises the bar for revolutionary performance and purity with their Soft Focus line. Designed to balance all skin types, including combination and oily skin, the Soft Focus line will work for everyone. Both of these products can be worn separately, however, when used together they create the dynamic duo.

Eyebrow Enhancer: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz

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Creating a natural looking brow has never been easier. A flawless brow can frame your face and totally change your look. With Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz, you can have well-groomed brows in mere seconds.

This aptly named pencil is ultra-fine and mimics the appearance of tiny hairs. The dual-ended mechanical pencil features pencil on one side and an essential spooley brush on the other.

The Brow Wiz is available in four shades: Ash Blonde – suggested for light to dark blonde hair. Medium Ash – suggested for light to medium brown and silver hair. Brunette – suggested for medium brown to black hair. Caramel – suggested for light brown hair with warm undertones, auburn, and strawberry blonde hair.

Application is a cinch with Brow Wiz. For optimal results, use short strokes and a light touch to fill in the brow, and extend where needed. Always blend pencil with the spooley brush for even and natural color.

If eyes are the window to the soul, then brows are the window treatments. Here are some tips and tricks from celebrity brow expert Anastasia Soare, founder of  Anastasia Beverly Hills:

· Stay away from tweezers, if your tweezing twice a week you’re doing too much.

· Make sure your brows are the right shade! Half the time a complimentary brow shade will do wonders much like hair color.

· Keep your brows close to your hair color just a touch darker if you’re a blonde, and if your brunette matching them is fine but don’t ever go too dark its overpowering.

· I love pencil for clients that have sparse brows or holes, I can use the pencil to spot touch and still keep the look natural.

· Never leave the house with naked brows. You don’t leave without mascara so don’t leave without pencil or brow gel. Well kept brows will pull anyone together in one minute and that to me is worth it.

 ABOUT ANASTASIA SOARE:

Combining her artistic interests with more technical ones, Anastasia trained professionally as an esthetician in Romania before moving with her family to California. While working as an esthetician at several prestigious beauty salons in Beverly Hills, Anastasia developed her own specific Golden Ratio™ technique behind the science of shaping eyebrows and helping to enhance the overall eye area. With her extremely loyal following and the growing buzz behind her brow shaping techniques, Anastasia opened her first full service salon on Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills, named Anastasia Beverly Hills, in 1997. The success of her first salon led her to opening a second full service salon in Brentwood, CA in 2010. Her product line can be found in stores like Nordstrom, Sephora and Ulta worldwide. A highly regarded expert in the field, Anastasia Soare has dedicated her lifetime to the pursuit of balanced natural beauty through the use of innovative ingredients and techniques. Never one to close the book, she will continue to develop products that combine the beauty of Anastasia with the science of skincare.

Glow-T’s Mineral Powder Foundation Awards

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Glow-T’s Mineral Powder Foundation Awards. 

Trust me, I have tried them all. I am a true fan of mineral powders for texture, coverage, finish and added benefits. To date, here are my picks:

BEST TEXTURE: Korres Wild Rose Mineral Foundation

This talc-free, loose powder foundation contains Korres signature Wild Rose Extract, a natural source of vitamin C that helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and skin discolorations. The texture is lightweight and feels like it allows the skin to breathe. It glides on the skin with a silky-smooth texture. The coverage is very sheer which makes this the perfect setting powder, for the brightening benefits and SPF 30.

BEST COVERAGE: Youngblood Natural Mineral Foundation

Originally developed with leading doctors and for use in a medical setting, Youngblood minerals are some of the finest available. The Natural Mineral Foundation is no joke. The ultra-fine powders provide the most full-coverage I have seen, yet still feels light on the skin. It produces a flawless, glowing complexion and covers any blemish or discoloration properly. Perfect for all skintypes, it is enriched with minerals that provide UVA/UVB protection and is completely free from talc, perfumes and chemical dyes.

BEST FINISH: Laura Mercier Mineral Powder SPF 15

This finely milled powder is composed completely of natural elements with 15 active amino acids. It helps to clear the skin of toxins, promote healthy skin-cell growth and fight the aging process. The real selling point is the amazing satin finish this product produces. It makes skin look incredibly youthful and luminous. While buffing this product into the skin, it almost feels like a cream and smooths over the skin effortlessly. The water-resistant powder is long-lasting and provides medium coverage and the shade selection is full of neutral tones that look natural on the skin.

BEST IN SHOW: PRIORI CoffeeBerry Perfecting Minerals

The All-In-One mineral powder foundation. Treat/Cover/Protect. The only mineral line that contains CoffeeBerry, a powerful antioxidant that fights free radicals and the causes of aging skin. This foundation feels weightless on the skin. It contains light-diffusing minerals that reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles producing a smoother more perfected complexion. It not only evens-out skintone and redness, but treats the underlying causes. Recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation, this is the best choice for broad spectrum UV protection: SPF 25, UVA 10, PA+++. When I wear this foundation, I think of it more as skincare than makeup. It gives me the perfect coverage and glow, in which I even feel comfortable wearing it to the gym. This is my pick for a Mineral Powder Foundation, it is truly in a category of it’s own.

TOP Coat: Seche Vite

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Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat is acknowledged as the world’s finest top coat. Its patented formula allows it to penetrate through the nail lacquer all the way to the base coat forming a single solid coating. It leaves nails strong and durable, no chipping or peeling, and provides the highest gloss of any product on the market.

When this product is applied it naturally thickens, coating the nail lacquer. It magically repairs any minor mistakes of a manicure, quickly and perfectly. The drying time is fast and flawless and it will never yellow.

This is truly the best top coat (or I would not dedicate an entire post to it). The only downfall is over time the product gets gooey and stringy. Seche makes an additional product, Seche Restore, to fix this problem. Just add a few drops into the bottle and – voila – a brand new bottle.

Let Loose! BECCA Fine Loose Finishing Powder

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Becca Fine Loose Finishing Powder

BECCA Fine Loose Finishing Powder is widely regarded as the finest powder in the world. It not only sets makeup but, helps creates flawless, radiant, glowing skin.

The exclusive formula is lightly pigmented and micro-milled for an ultra-sheer, natural-looking finish. It sets makeup all day and keeps skin looking impeccably fresh. The lightweight texture allows the skin’s natural oils to subtly shine-through ensuring a no-makeup-makeup-look.

Apply this loose powder with a big fluffy brush or for those with oily to combination skin, use a powder-puff. The powder will not settle into fine lines or look cakey. It feels weightless and silky on the skin and provides sheer coverage.

BECCA Fine Loose Finishing Powder is very unique because it creates a natural dewy finish to the skin, which is quite unusual when using powder-based products.

Dynamic Duo: Per-fekt Cheek Perfection Gel Duo

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Per-fekt Cheek Perfection Gel Duo

The Per-fekt Cheek Perfection Gel Duo uses two products to create radiant skin. The two different shades, Blushed and Bronzed, instantly enhance the cheeks appearance.

The formula consists of a gel-like texture that smooths beautifully over the skin to create a flawless canvas. Silicone-based, this silky gel reduces the appearance of redness and discoloration, enlarged pores, fine lines and shine. The formula also contains Niacin (Vitamin B3) which helps increase circulation, Caffeine, Vitamin A and E, antioxidants that protect from free radicals.

The Per-fekt Cheek Perfection Gel Duo provides both a bronzer and blush product. The colors of these products are quite intimidating. The bronzer is a dark green-based brown and the blusher, a deep rosy red. I prefer to mix the two products to create a warmer pink-flushed cheek. A drop of product is all that is needed for application, the gels are extremely pigmented but blend easily.

These products are not the simplest to apply, some precision and control is needed. I prefer applying the product with a brush because it renders more control. I use a dense contour brush (MAC 109), and stipple the product on the skin in circular motions.

The Cheek Perfection Duo can also be used on the body, try a little bronzer on the décollage for a sun-kissed appearance. When applied Per-fektly, these products are a great option for the cheeks, however, if not heedful it can end up a duo-disaster.

 

 

 

 

Prime Time: Stila Prime Pot

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Stila Prime Pot

Stila Prime Pot is a waterproof eye shadow primer that extends the life of eye makeup. When applied, this primer smooths and conceals the lid area of any flaws to create the perfect blank canvas for eye makeup. The inventive polymers in this product cling to eye shadow to prevent creasing and keep excess oil at bay.

This creamy primer is easy to apply and only the smallest amount is needed. Although this product is waterproof, it can be removed gently and without struggle.

Stila Prime Pot is available in two colors, Taffy: soft beige pink and Caramel: warm tawny beige. Both colors are matte and should match all skintones.