5 Drugstore Products That Could Be Sold In Sephora

We’re starting something new here, 5 Drugstore products that are good enough to be sold in Sephora. There are so many treasures in the drugstore. My local Duane Reade knows to call me every time they get a new shipment of makeup/nail polishes. Yes that’s how crazy I am. So here are some products that I think are good enough to be sold in Sephora. I’ve actually mentioned some of these before, next week we’ll go with all new ones.

1) L’oreal Collagene Mascara-This mascara elongates and gives my lashes so much volume, it’s ridiculous. This actually works better than some brands I’ve tried from Sephora.

2) Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eyeliner This gives me the liquid look without that brush that I can never get right, and it last all day. No lie!


3) Carmindy Lip gloss in Sparkling Champagne-one of my absolute fave glosses. The color is such a gorgeous nude with specks of sparkle. Makes my lips look luscious, and passes the hair test. (Hair doesn’t stick to lips when wind blows.)


4) NYC Terracotta Tan-I’ve recommended this many times, and everyone has told me they loved this stuff. It’s inexpensive, provides an amazing glow, and it’s great for contouring as well.


5) Wet N Wild Belgian Chocolate Palette- Note, I haven't tried this myself, but I went out to this great Brazilian bar yesterday called Felix. I had so much fun! Anyway, my cousin came, and as soon as I saw her I told her that I loved her shadow. Just a gorgeous pigmented blend of browns. Towards the end of the night, I noticed her shadow still looked great (and we’d been dancing to Brazilian music all night.) When I asked her what she was using, she said Wet n Wild shadow in Belgian Chocolates. It looked beautiful and lasted all night even after dancing for hours.


What are some drugstore products that are good enough to be sold in Sephora?

Let Me Know.

Hugs,

DE

Recession Replacement Thursday, Bronzer & Winner of Sally Hansen's Colors

Here's one of our readers introducing us to a new & inexpensive bronzer.

Dear DE,

I thought the recession would kill my beauty routine. It turns out, it's made me discover some great inexpensive gems.
Before the recession hit, I lived in Sephora like it was my second home. Well I can’t afford to do that anymore, so my local Sallys and drugstores are where I find all of beauty items.
I was one of those people addicted to Guerlain’s bronzer, it left me gorgeously glowing like nothing else…..or so I thought.





Around 2 months ago, I was in my local beauty store when I spotted this gorgeous shimmery bronzer, by a company called Prestige. The color was Glam Tan.



I never heard of this company but the price was right, only ten dollars, so I picked it up.
I was not disappointed. This bronzer is finely milled, so pigmented, and with one swoop of my brush, I'm left with one of the most beautiful glows I’ve ever had. I think it’s better than the more expensive products I’ve used.
This has definitely replaced not just my Guerlain Bronzer, but all of my other bronzers.

Thanks Theresa for your Recession Replacement,

Winner of Sally Hansen's Insta Dri Nail polishes is Natasha Evans. Natasha you have two days to contact me or we'll give this to someone else. We're having more great giveaways soon, also, please e-mail me your Recession Replacements.

Hugs,

DE

Oh i also want to thank one of my readers Hips Hazel who gave me an extra shout out on her blog. How sweet was that. Here's the post THINK GOLDEN CHECK OUT HER BLOG TOO, IT'S LOADED WITH FANTASTIC AND POSITIVE INFORMATION!

Best Bronzer for Under $5.00

Sorry for the infrequency in posting. My schedule has been insane. But let's get back to beauty! Now, I told you guys before, I'm an aspiring reporter so money is indeed incredibly tight! I need to try to find the best products for the most affordable price. Hands down the winner of my best bronzer for your buck is NYC's Sun2Sun Bronzer.



When I used to work in finance, I treated myself to many expensive make-up brands, but lately with my non-existent salary that doesn't happen too often. What I found with the NYC (my favorite shade is the Terracota tan) is that this gives me an incredibly beautiful bronze glow with just a slight but perfect amount of shimmer-looks very natural. It looks so stunning, it's my Best Bronzer for under $5.00.

Did you guys every pick this up?

What bronzers do you love?

What's new in your world?

Hugs,

DE

5 Star Bronzer for Under $5.00

When I first read Paula Begoun’s book, Don’t go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, I was in serious shock. Page after page revealed the reality of cosmetics and their ingredients. So many expensive products which I had read about before and had been purported to give amazing results, were revealed to be useless, and the cost of formulating them was often less than $1.00. I remember after finishing reading Paula’s book (I read every single page) feeling (this will sound very cliché) that the truth had set me free. I no longer needed to be a snob about products. (Although, lol, sometimes I still will be.) Paula had found many products that cost less than $5.00 were often better than their $30.00 counterparts. I love that lady for being so truthful. Anyway because it’s the summer, I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect bronzer and have become a serious guinea pig, trying as many that I can get my hands on. I recently got an email from a Marla Hernandez asking if I knew of any effective bronzers that were under $10.00. Marla, I can do better than that, I recently found one for less than $5.00 and I think the quality is exceptional.

NYC Sun 2 Sun Bronzer



First of all this product is dermatologist tested, oil absorbing, and fragrance free. There are three shades of the Sun 2 Sun, but I used the Bronze Mist. This product comes in a split pan with 2 skin-illuminating bronzers in it. There is a little shimmer to them but its not overly done. I applied this, and my face look incredibly sun-kissed and golden but still so natural. The powder is fine-milled, and easily shows up on my skin with just one swoop of my brush. This bronzer makes me look as if I spent the day at the beach. I love the staying power of this as well. For $4.99 you can’t beat the price or quality of this. FYI, I compared the ingredients of this to two of my other bronzers that cost more than $20.00-the ingredients of NYC were almost the same. This is something to definitely take a second look at.

Hugs,

DE

WOW For MINERALOGIE

When mineral makeup started becoming popular, I was so excited by its claims of not containing any harsh chemicals, and how it would cover all your imperfections while transforming the health of your skin. I must have bought every single mineral make-up out there. However, I just didn’t like the way they looked on my skin. Usually, the colors didn’t match my tan complexion, and it would look as if I had a mask on my face. By the middle of the day, my pores would be showing more than ever and my face would be left a greasy mess. I was kind of intent on not using any more mineral make-up but I recently discovered Mineralogie and this is making me want to put away my liquid foundations for good.

This mineral make-up really does what it purports to do. First of all, the foundation and the blush have a very high SPF of 26 (this is incredibly high for any make-up) and are described as being “very water resistant.” They also offer 33 shades of mineral foundation that are supposed to match every skin tone, but if it doesn’t, they will custom blend one just for you. I tried the mineral pressed foundation in the Latte shade and the Apricot Toast blush. The first thing I loved about this make-up was the adorable packaging. It comes in this chic square silver/clear container.

I love how it’s not messy at all. It advises you to press three pin- holes into the seal to assure that there is no mess.

I punched in three, and then used my Kabuki brush to apply. As I applied the Latte shade, I noticed that this beautiful brown shade was an exact match to my skin. I was impressed!! The amount of coverage was truly incredible, however, it did not look like I had any make-up on!! This mineral make-up really made my skin look airbrushed but still very natural. Because of my tan complexion, when I get a zit or irritation on my skin, I get left with a dark mark. I usually use a concealer to cover it. However, I didn’t need to use any concealer with this. An application of this made my skin looked flawless and my brown mark was not showing at all. I was in heaven!!!!! I then applied the Apricot Toast blush. This is such a beautiful highly pigmented peachy blush with a hint of shimmer. Here’s a swatch.

This made me look as if I was glowing. Yesterday was a beautiful day in New York, so after having lunch with my mom, I dropped my bag off at the gym, and ran three miles in Central Park (totally forgetting to wash my make-up off). After my run, I returned to the gym and looked in the mirror. My face was covered in sweat; my eyeliner was smudged all over my lids but my skin still looked perfect, and the blush looked like I had just applied it. The staying power of this is incredible. This is a must have and I mean it.
MINERALOGIE

HUGS,
DE

SUMMER MUST HAVE-TRUE BLUE SPA SHADE TO ORDER

I love being tanned-but I won’t risk dying for one or speed up the aging process to get one. Nope, no sun for me! I always wear SPF 30 or higher and live on self-tanners. I recently discovered one that has led me to throw all of my other self-tanners away. Ladies and Jets, I introduce you to:

Bath & Body True Blue Spa Shade to Order



First of all, this is a tanner and an oil-free moisturizer in one, which is FABULOUS!! A great thing about this product is there are seven settings (one is the moisturizer) and YOU customize the intensity of your sunless tan by turning the dial. This is excellent for someone who hasn’t tanned before because if you don’t want to go too dark, try the lowest setting which is #6. But if you’re a rebel like me, go the highest setting which is #1. Before using this amazing product, I exfoliated my skin thoroughly (helps prevent uneven tanning). I then turned the dial to the darkest setting and began applying. The first thing I noticed about this product was the fact that the smell was almost non-existent. It’s a very light and pleasant coconut scent, that I didn’t smell 5 minutes after application. Tanners usually don’t smell so great, so I was very happy about this!!!!!! Seriously, in order for me to smell anything, I had to practically stick this cream inside my nostril. Also, the tanner is a pretty thin consistency, and it glided right on my skin. I applied this all over my face, legs, chest, and arms. There were no streaks at all when using this. I love the fact that this tanner is packed full of luxurious ingredients like glycerin which keep your skin moisturized, Aloe Vera to smooth skin, and vitamin E to moisturize and protect your skin.
It’s now a few days later and I still can’t believe how golden and sun-kissed I look. On my way to work this morning, a few people asked me what island I’d been to because my bronze glow looked so good. This is a summer must-have and I mean it!!!!!!!
Check out my fellow beauty blogger Wes of Honey Brown Sugar . She blogs about her great experience as well using other items from the True Blue Tan line.

Hugs,
DE

Stila + Summer = Bronze Goddess

Stila is offering some products to give you that golden sun-kissed look for the summer. These products work to enhance your natural beauty and not cover it up. Stila artist Sarah Lucero explains how to use them.

Sun Bronzing Powder SPF 15 ($28.00)



What it is: Natural glow, no sun required.

What it does: Provides full protection from harmful UVA and UVB rays and imparts a radiant glow.

How it does it: Now formulated with SPF 15, this Stila classic blocks the sun without leaving you pale.

From the expert: “This is a must–have for the summer and for all skin types and tone—it leaves your skin looking healthy and luminous,” says Lucero. “For a light, sun-kissed look, use Stila Brush #8 to lightly apply Stila Sun Bronzing Powder SPF 15 Shade #1. Dust over the nose, tops of cheeks and forehead – wherever the sun naturally first touches the skin. For a tanner look, use Shade #2.”

Cherry Crush Lip and Cheek Stain ($24.00)



What it is: Lip and cheek color at the click of a pen.

What it does: Delivers a perfect individualized cherry stain to lips and cheeks.

How it does it: The formula reacts to the pH levels in the cheeks and lips to create a personalized blush and pout. Cherry and pomegranate extracts provides skin and lips with anti-oxidant protection.

From the expert: “Apply with fingertips to cheeks and apply directly to lips with the brush tip applicator,” Lucero recommends. “On lips, wear the stain alone or under your favorite Stila lip glaze. On cheeks, layer for intensity.”

Multi-Effect Mascara ($20.00)



What it is: A multi-tasking lash booster.

What it does: Volumizes, lengthens, thickens and curls in a single stroke.

How it does it: Via a revolutionary, technologically advanced formula and a unique application brush featuring a slightly slanted tip designed to get into the corners of the eyes.

From the expert: “Multi-Effect Mascara is the perfect way to add instant drama to a clean, minimal summer look,” recommends Lucero. “Just a single coat creates a head-turning eye-opening effect.”

Sun Shimmer Dry Oil ($26.00)



What it is: Glistening shimmer and a touch of color in one.

What it does: Delivers a veil of shimmery moisture to the skin with a hint of natural tint.

How it does it: Macadamia and kukui nut oils hydrate and smooth the skin, imparting a glowing sheen.

From the expert: “I love this product for the beach because it replenishes skin that gets dehydrated in the heat,” Lucero explains. “Layer over an SPF formula for head-to-toe radiance under the sun.”

Bonus tip: Lucero says, “Leave the heavy powder at home during summer months. A great trick is to lightly dust bronzer in the t-zone to remove shine and add warmth to the skin. Try using Stila Brush #8 for a soft, blendable application.”