As any long time reader here will know, Benefit Cosmetics is one of my favorite cosmetics lines out there. In my experience, their products have always lived up to their claims. Which is extremely rare for any beauty brand, as I’m sure you all know. So, it makes sense that out of all the holiday cosmetics lines, I was excited to see the Benefit Cosmetics Holiday 2008 Gift Guide. Most of the sets featured are ones that you wouldn’t easily come across but are packed with some of the best Benefit products.

24k Sexy Gold Set : Containing an ultra-flattering sheer golden lipstick and golden loose powder, this set also comes in a very cute vintage inspired clutch. Not only is sheer gold a great shade on anyone, no matter what your skin tone or shade, but it’s also the perfectly festive shade to wear this winter. Dust the loose powder on your shoulders, collar bones, legs, and anywhere else you want a little extra shimmer. This set is one of the limited edition Holiday sets, so be sure to get a hold of it while you still can. Pick up the 24k Sexy Gold Set online now.

Beauty Uppers Set : This set is perfect for those of us who tend to run ourselves a little ragged during the holiday season. With so much going on in our lives, it can get difficult to juggle it all and end up going through your days looking dreary and tired. Well, the Beauty Uppers Set is just what you need. Containing You Rebel Lite (a great tinted moisturizer), Dandelion (a brightening face powder) and Benetint (a rose-tinted lip & cheek stain), this set contains everything that you need to look instantly brighter and more awake. Pick up the Beauty Uppers Set online now.

Peace, Love & Glossiness Set : I don’t know about you, but I just can’t get enough lip gloss. It’s one of my few beauty addictions that I just cannot break myself from. What’s so great about the Peace, Love & Glossiness Set is that it contains six of the best Benefit Her Glossiness shades. This set contains 24K (gold shimmer) with Talk To My Agent (shimmering mauve), My People, Your People (crystal pink sheer shimmer) with Kiss You (sheer light violet), and Who Does Your Work? (sheer wine) with Magic (sheer pink beige). Pick up the Peace, Love & Glossiness Set online now.

Sexy Stash Set : Considering that this kit contains one of my favorite make up primers as well as one of my favorite blushes, the Sexy Stash Set is high on my wish list right now. Containing Thrrrob (quite possible the most perfect blush for fair skinned girls created), That Gal (a brightening face primer), and BADgal Lash Mascara, this set contains several must have items for any girl with a not-that-innocent side. Not only will you have gorgeously glowing skin, but you’ll have those great doe-eyed lashes. Pick up the Sexy Stash Set online now.

When I first started reading reviews about The Multiple by NARS, I was hesitant to try the product. All too often in the past all-in-one cosmetic products that promised a cream to powder form failed to live up to their claims. However, the reviews kept me intrigued and I love all the other NARS products that I’ve tried. So, when I won a Sephora gift card from Total Beauty, I had to add this product to my beauty stash.

As described by the company, The original multi-purpose stick for eyes, cheeks, lips and body. Its unique, creamy formula blends effortlessly to provide sheer color for creating shimmering accents, contours or dynamic highlights on all skin tones. Creates perfect, glowing complexions and is conveniently designed for failproof application. In all honesty, this really is the perfect description for the product. It’s incredibly creamy, for easy application, but isn’t greasy and blends easily into your skin. It looks completely natural as it goes on sheer but you can layer it for a more dramatic look. I picked up The Multiple in Orgasm, since I’m a huge fan of the entire Orgasm collection. I use it on my cheeks as blush and to blend my eyeshadow when I want to achieve a more natural look.

Overall, I’ve loved The Multiple by NARS and, now that I’ve tried it, will definitely buy it when this tube runs out. Then again, so far that has been my experience with all NARS products. The Orgasm lip gloss is definitely my favorite gloss out there. The Multiple would be a great addition to the Tips For Flawless Natural Make Up post and it would be a great substitute for the bronzer recommended in the Healthy, Radiant Complexion video by NARS. You can pick up The Multiple online, at Sephora, or in a department store.

Have you tried The Multiple or other similar products? What shade is your favorite? What was your experience with the product?

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In a recent interview, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham talked about her skin care tips and her brow grooming tips. As I’m sure most people can guess, Victoria Beckham is not what you’d exactly call a low maintenance kind of girl. While it’s been questioned in the past about if Beckham uses surgery or Botox to help keep her skin looking gorgeous, Victoria Beckham Dishes On How To Stay Youthful through skin care tips.

One cult classic beauty move that Victoria listed as one of her top ten beauty tips was moisturizing hands and feet. She likes to massage her hands and feet with a heavy moisturizing cream every night then puts on thick cotton gloves and socks. Personally, I do this with Vaseline or Smith’s Rosebud Salve. As Posh stated, “I put really thick foot lotion on with socks before I go to sleep. I also use thick hand cream with gloves at the same time.

Another tip from Victoria is about grooming your eyebrows. Brows are something that many people can make our break your look. If they aren’t shaped enough they can overpower your face, but if they are too shaped you will look constantly surprised. Thin brows used to be all the rage but now a strong brow is popular. All it takes is just a bit of careful grooming and products to look polished. As Victoria said, “I spend more time on them than I used to. I always thought, ‘Oh, they’re just brows.’ But now I pay attention to them. I brush them and I’m careful not to over-pluck.”

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When higher end cosmetic companies have a clearance section, I find it’s a great time to check out new products. Not only are they limited edition (which makes them a great addiction to your stash) but they are often at lower prices. Hard Candy is one example of this. Right now Lancome has a lot of great items in their Beauty Bye-Bye section that are worth picking up. One item that I am seriously tempted by is the Juicy Tubes World Tour Lip Gloss, which is pictured here. The vintage illustrations on the packaging is too cute! This limited-edition collection originally had 4 shades, all inspired by the main fashion cities in the globe, with each tube decorated by London fashion designer, Christopher Kane. The two shades left in stock are Fifth Avenue Frosting and Grand Café Crème Brûlee. Both of which look like great shades.

You can also pick up some other items that will soon be gone, such as Le Vernis Roses Nail Color in limited-edition shades. While the shades (Rose Macaroon, Rose Royale, and Rose Fleurette) are a bit too pastel for fall, buy them now and wear them in the spring when they will be in style and impossible to get a hold of. I don’t know about you, but I think that a Last Chance on Limited Edition Lancome Beauty Loot is always a good thing.

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As the mornings and nights are getting a bit cooler out, I’m definitely getting more and more excited about fall fashion and beauty items. I’ve been really into listing lately and wanted to make a list of all the fashion and beauty items that I am looking forward to the most this fall.

+ Getting to wear Ugg’s. I love my tall chestnut ones, and would love to get some crochet ones, like the ones featured here.
+ Dark vampy nail polish. I love burgundy shades the most.
+ An excuse to pull out the black liquid liner as often as possible.
+ Being able to layer as much as I like without getting weird looks. I tend to wear at least 3 layers every day (usually two tanks and a shirt). In the summer, people find this a bit odd. I see it as a chance to add some extra color and texture to a look.
+ Knee socks. I love knee socks. Especially argyle ones.
+ Slouchy boots. I didn’t pick up a pair last year and have decided that, no matter what, I will this year.
+ Scarves. Again, people look at your strange when you wear them in the summer. You can wear them every day in the fall if you like.

What are some of the fall fashion and beauty trends that you are excited about?

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As a sunless tanning addict, I was surprised that I had never ventured beyond the lotion formula’s and one spray sunless tanner. While I’m not 100% opposed to laying out by the pool to get a tan, overall, I don’t consider the risks of a tan to be worth it. Who wants pre-mature aging, sunspots, and the risk of cancer when you can get a golden glow without those risks? With so many options on the market I think that, just as with any skin care option, it’s a great idea to research products and try new items. Sometimes you might end up disappointed, but there are times when you are going to stumble upon a great find. This was the case when I tried TanTowel.

The TanTowel is exactly what it implies - a sunless tanner infused cloth towel that’s about the size of a baby wipe. You start with clean, dry, and exfoliated skin (just like with any other self tanner). Exfoliation is really important because that alone can determine if you end up with an even glow or streaks. TanTowel even makes a X- Foliator towel that will do the process for you. Unlike other sunless tanners, you should not moisturize before hand. This will actually have a negative effect on the TanTowel. The first TanTowel that I used was the Full Body Classic for fair to medium skin tones. The cloth was enough for me to cover my full body applying with slow, even, circular strokes. You can use it all over. Even on your face! It dried incredibly fast. This is great because it’s a pain to sit around waiting for regular sunless tanner to dry. When you have to spend more time waiting for a product to dry than applying it, it isn’t always worth the time. These would be very easy to use for everyone who doesn’t have the extra time or who simply doesn’t want to spare the extra time.

As with all sunless tanners, it takes a few hours for your full color to develop. I was so excited and nervous to see how my skin turned out! After several hours, my skin had a gorgeous and streak-free glow to it. It looks like I spent the weekend laying out by the swimming pool instead of just a few minutes with a TanTowel! In fact, the only problem I had with TanTowel was that I missed a couple of places. Thankfully, I was able to go over those areas with the Half Body Classic towel and they are now perfectly blended.

TanTowel is now my latest sunless tanning addiction. I’m so glad that I have a few more towels on hand before I’ll need to re-stock! The Classic Starter Package is very tempting. I may have to take some before and after pictures next time so that I can try to win a $300 TanTowel Shopping Spree and really stock up on their products. I think that the best thing about TanTowel is that it doesn’t contain any dyes or stains. It reacts with the proteins and amino acids in your skin to produce a great glow. This means that it won’t rub off or stain your clothing. With all the pro’s involved (quick drying time, no staining, great results) TanTowel is definitely a great product that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in a sunless tanning product.

Have you tried TanTowel before? What have been your experiences with TanTowel or similar types of sunless tanning?

While recently browsing the NARS website, I came across a great video tutorial for how to create natural looking and flawless make up. The tips in the video, for both what products to use and application, are extremely helpful and can be adapted into any beauty regiment. With just a few products you can go from completely natural to naturally gorgeous. So, what are you waiting for? Get The Look : A Healthy, Radiant Complexion From NARS!

For those who do not wish to view the video (which can be accessed by clicking the image above or going here), the steps from the video are explained below.

What are your tips and tricks for naturally gorgeous skin??

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