Bobbi Brown Cosmetics Telluride Collection Fall 2015

With inspiration from one of Bobbi Brown’s favorite haunts – Telluride, Colorado – the newest collection from Bobbi Brown Cosmetics focuses on a warm glow for the face. Each product in the Bobbi Brown Telluride Collection Fall 2015 is designed to deliver an elegant glow reminiscent of the late afternoon sun in Telluride.

Team TME fell in love with the brand’s latest collection because of its versatile color palette, which features colors that can be worn now for Summer 2015, as well as Fall 2015. With “sunset” hues of tawny nude, rose gold, and pink bronze; this collection is perfect for summer and transitions beautifully into fall. Who doesn’t love a solidly hued palette that carries over seasons? So, what does the Bobbi Brown Telluride Collection Fall 2015 offer?

To start, the Limited Edition Telluride Eye Palette ($52) features seven earthy eye shadows in a variety of brown, soft blush and mauve hues, this palette is a fresh take on a neutral eye, which is a major makeup trend from Fall 2015 New York Fashion Week. The palette includes a sleek Dual-Ended Eye Shadow/Eye Liner.

Shades:

• Cream
• Woodrose
• Velvet Plum Metallic
• Blazing Star Sparkle
• Heather Rose Shimmer Wash
• Antique Rose
• Smokey Brown

Next in the Fall 2015 Collection is Pot Rouge for Lips & Cheeks ($29) that happens to be one of Bobbi Brown’s best sellers. No surprise there, as any cosmetic product that’s a mutli-tasker is bound to become a must-have for all of us busy women. For Fall 2015, the brand has introduced two new shades -- Telluride and Maui. We’re favoring Maui Fresh Melon for Summer 2015 with its pink coral hue and Telluride’s warm mauve is going to be a hit for Fall 2015.

Shades:

• Telluride
• Maui
• Fresh Melon

Moving on in the collection, we take a look at the Limited Edition Shimmer Brick ($46) that is an all over skin pick-me-up. With hues like Sunset Pink that warm the complexion, we don’t see any washed out looks in our future. We have to mention that the ultra-fine pearl pigments are so soft on the skin and leave a silk, radiant finish. What one is left with from this Shimmer Brink is a sun-touched look without the sun damage and we are pleased that the hues work well on various complexions!

Completing the Bobbi Brown Telluride Collection Fall 2015 is Sheer Lip Color ($27) that features two new shades -- Sunset Pink and Natural Pink.

Shades:

• Sunset Pink
• Natural Pink
• Bobbi

In conjunction with the launch of the Telluride Collection this month, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics is offering complimentary “Look of The Season Makeup Lessons” to show women how to achieve a sun-kissed glow. Visit Bobbi Brown online to find a store and schedule an appointment.

Great Clips Launches “Back To School” Charity Campaign

Did you read that headline and suck in your breath? Yep, it is back to school time! In celebration of back to school, Great Clips announced Thursday, July 24 that the brand has teamed up with Adopt A Classroom for the 2014 school year to provide teachers, students and parents across the country with access to much needed school supplies.

Did You Know that more than 15 million children live in households with families who cannot provide all the resources needed to succeed in school? Or that currently teachers have to purchase nearly 75 percent of all classroom materials with their own money? Teachers spend up to $1000 of their own dollars buying materials for their classrooms each school year—totaling more than $3 billion annually. Shocking, but true.

With this reality in mind, Great Clips has set out to make a difference in three simple ways.

One: Great Clips worked with AdoptAClassroom.org to find two deserving teachers and surprise them with the classroom of their dreams. Watch the surprise video as Great Clips surprises teachers Clara Hutchinson and Anthony Jacobs with an amazing classroom transformation at Central High school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Great Clips also adopted the other 78 teachers at Central High by putting funds into each of their AdoptAClassroom.org accounts so they can choose the supplies they most need.

Two: Great Clips is offering everyone an easy way to help a classroom in their community. When customers download their free Online Check-In app through Sept. 5, Great Clips will make a donation to support AdoptAClassroom.org up to $20,000.

Three: Great Clips is making back-to-school more affordable for all families. Daily #GREATLIST winners get back-to-school supplies shipped to their front door for free. To enter, customers go to the Back-To-School page online at Great Clips between today and Sept. 5 to complete a simple entry form. Submit a photo of the list, type the list or upload a copy of the list. Great Clips will purchase and ship school supplies to daily winners (up to $100 in value.)

Birchbox goes back to school at the ‘Head Of The Class’

Birchbox announced Aug. 21 the launch of their first teen inspired box. The limited edition “Head Of The Class” box has been specially curated for the “Birchboxers-in-training,” with products focused on teen consumers and the back-to-school crowd.

This special edition Birchbox offering has been launched just in time for back-to-school shopping and promises to include everything that a girl needs to look picture perfect for that often nerve racking first day. From Stila lip glaze and Jane Tran designer bobby pins to a trendy nail art kit by Color Club, this box has all of the necessary essentials for a beautynista-in-training.

The “Head of the Class” box includes:

• Birchbox Custom Chevron Pouch
• Color Club Nail Polish in Flamingo
• Color Club Nail Polish in Silver Lake
• Color Club Sequin Nail Art Kit
• Jane Tran Chrysanthemum Print Bobby Pin Set
• Poppin Pink Small Soft Cover Notebook
• Stila Lip Glaze
• Sisco & Berluti Friendship Bracelets
• willa Start Fresh Foaming Face Wash or Face Friendly Clear Faced Moisturizer

The brand has also listed a “How To Use” section on their website. The “Head Of The Class” box comes on the heels of two major announcements for the brand, a partnering with Ann Taylor and the release of limited edition Ruffian Nail Lacquers. The “Head of the Class” ($28 valued at $80) is now available, exclusively at Birchbox.

Makeup Basics For Newbies

When first experimenting with makeup, it's best to keep it simple. A little mascara, eyeliner and pop of sheer lip color go a long way to subtly enhance your natural beauty, while maintaining that covetable fresh-faced, youthful glow.

1. If you have any skin imperfections, lightly use a healing concealer like Boo-Boo Concealer
2. If you’re opting to use blush, just a kiss of it will work perfectly
3. Use an angled eye liner brush to apply a medium brown hued liner close to your lash line
4. Apply a coat of dark brown mascara or opt for clear
5. Apply a sheer lip color, like the ones in CoverGirl’s Smoochies collection, and your good to go!

©2013 TyDus Enterprises/The Makeup Examiner 

Chic Makeup Look For College

From the classroom to study group to campus parties, you want to play up your features, and of course, be on trend. During the day, BB cream, mascara, blush and lip tint go a long way. To turn it up for night, experiment with defined cheekbones and trendy metallic shades.

1. Touch up any complexion unevenness with concealer
2. Put a stop to shine by applying a translucent powder
3. Use a large round powder brush to add a touch of bronzer or blush to cheeks
4. If you’re opting for bronzer, apply the bronzer just under your cheekbone
5. Swipe blush just above the bronzer, using a formula with a slight shimmer to create the illusion of sky-high cheekbones
6. Metallic eye shadows are a huge trend for fall, so transition into the season with a copper toned shadow swept across your lid
7. Apply shadow to lids
8. Then smudge in a darker brown shadow to your outer corner and creases to create a smokey effect and don’t forget to blend
9. Finish this sultry eye look with smudged dark brown liner and two coats of mascara
10. For this intense eyes look, stick to the “either or rule” and go with a muted lip

©2013 TyDus Enterprises/The Makeup Examiner 

Flawless Face For Busy Moms

Getting the kids, and yourself, out the door on time can be challenging. But with the proper tools, hectic morning makeup application can be a breeze by laying out each beauty tool that you need, just as would your outfit. Follow this step-by-step for a professional and easy “get out the door” look.

1. Use a foundation brush to apply a coat of your desired coverage over the entire face
2. Multi-tasking products like a tinted moisturizer or a BB cream are great time savers to eliminate extra steps
3. Fake a good night’s sleep by covering imperfections with a concealer brush
4. Use the brush to pat concealer lightly onto any dark or discolored areas
5. Then use a flat tipped buffing concealer brush to blend concealer into foundation
6. Apply a translucent powder with a full headed powder brush and blend
7. Apply a quick coat of mascara
8. Now just swipe on some blush and lipstick and you’re ready to head out the door in pulled together perfection

©2013 TyDus Enterprises/The Makeup Examiner 

Off To College Makeup Essentials

Whether this is your first year away or you’re a seasoned beautynista returning to another year of the collegiate life, there are crucial essentials that every college girl needs. And sometimes even the most experienced beautynista forgets a thing or two. Of course there are the basics, which The Makeup Examiner will cover, and then there are the makeup products that are a must-have to incorporate into your beauty cache.

Let’s start with the basics. First, get yourself a really good makeup bag. The Makeup Examiner loves Apple & Bee Carry All Traveller ($69.95) realizing that this makeup bag be a little pricey for the college woman, you can opt for any travel makeup bag. But trust TME, you’ll want a travel-type makeup bag that is large enough for all of your products and is convenient to hang in the dorm bathroom. After you’ve decided what you’re going to haul your makeup cache in, you need to stock it with basic essential tools.

Essential Beautynista Tools:

• Cotton Rounds – Rounds are simply more versatile then cotton puffs
• Cotton Swabs – From smudging in a smoky eye to cleaning up smudges
• Manicure Kit – Every woman needs a decent manicure kit and right now, Ulta is offering a free manicure kit with purchase
• Tweezers – Do I need to explain this one?
• Makeup Brush Set - EcoTools offers a 6-piece set ($12.99) with it’s own case

Now, that you have the beauty tool essentials together, you can gather you’re makeup essentials. The Makeup Examiner has specifically chosen CoverGirl cosmetics due to their price point, high level of quality, and extensive shade availability. CoverGirl is one of the few companies that cater to an array of women.

Best Face Forward:

• BB Cream - CG Smoothers BB Cream SPF 15 ($6.24) is available in four shades and instantly covers to even your skin tone. Why is a BB cream an essential? BB creams are multipurpose products, which saves you time when trying to get to that 8 a.m. class, and are somewhat lighter in consistency then foundation.
• Foundation - Of course there will be many times when you’ll want full coverage and that’s when you’ll want your foundation. Clean Whipped Creme Foundation ($6.99) is available in 10 shades, has a hydrating (not oily) formula, and provides breathable coverage.
• Blush - Any college girl knows that space is an issue! Clean Glow Blush ($6.99) is a blusher trio that’s available in two different palette hues, which enables you to go for a light kiss of color or go for full on contouring. The Makeup Examiner chose this particular product because of its versatility.

The Eyes Have It:

• Eye Shadows - Flamed Out Shadow Pots ($3.99) come in 12 fierce, expressive shades and feature blendable colors packed into a tight powder formula. Space Saver!
• Shadow/Liner Combo - Flamed Out Shadow Pencils ($5.99) are a 2-in-1 gel shadow and eyeliner in 10 hot, blendable shades. The creamy formula glides on smoothly and is perfect for creating a multitude of looks. Time Saver!
• Eyeliner - Ink It! By Perfect Point Plus ($5.99) is available in 6 shades and creates high impact looks, which last for up to twelve hours … perfect for that cram session with the cutie down the hall.
• Mascara – The Makeup Examiner loves these two CoverGirl products. Flamed Out Mascara ($5.99) creates volume and comes in a water-resistant formula, which I’ve found to be fabu when I want a lush look but need to get out the door. And then there is the amazing CG Clump Crusher Extensions Mascara ($8.49). This is THE mascara for the girl that loves the falsies look, but not that hassle. Farwell to falsies (and clumps) with the lash extension formula and innovative curved brush!

Lip Service:

• Lipstick versus Lip Gloss - Lipslicks Smoochies Lip Balm ($4.99) is one of The Makeup Examiner’s favorite items. Available in 12 shades, CG Smoochies hydrates, and delivers a sheer color and shine. Lip conditioning ingredients including cocoa, mango, aloe and shea butters, which is sure to make this a staple in your makeup cache.

Nail It:

• Nail Lacquer - A million years ago, TME’s auntie told her that the first thing people notice are your hands and nails. I’m not sure that I believed her at the time, but upon meeting a person for the first time I catch myself scanning their nails. With that said, in July CoverGirl launched a limited edition version of their Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss called Glosstinis. Outlast Stay Brilliant Glosstinis ($2.99) are a mini bottles of their super glossy big sister and are available in nine shades, which means that you can grab all nine without the worry about your polishes taking up too much space.

What are your must-have makeup products? What advice would you offer to a first year beautynista? Leave your lovely advice in the comment section below!

Back-To-School Budget Beauty and Makeup Tips

Whether you’re headed back-to-school as a “seasoned” beautynista or are a B-I-T (Beautynista In Training), finding budget beauty products that actually work can be a real challenge. Furthermore, if you are a B-I-T, you may not have the knowledge that you need so as to not waste your money. Spending $3.99 on a product that doesn’t work is $3.99 that you’ve just wasted and that could have been put towards something that you really wanted. Over the past year, The Makeup Examiner has been fortunate to review several brands that are super budget-friendly and actually do what they’re supposed to do.

The first rule of makeup for B-I-T’s … less is more. If this is your first back-to-school year with makeup, you want to show everyone that you’ve matured, not that you went crazy with your mommy’s makeup kit. Let’s start at the very beginning, which is your skin. Before you put a single pigment anywhere on your face, you have to learn how to take care of your skin. Bonus: learning how to take care of your skin now will payoff for a lifetime and for seasoned beautynistas … if you don’t have a skin care regime it’s time to start one!

A great skin care regime is, well, a great thing. But The Makeup Examiner is acutely aware that not everyone is going to go through the entire process. For those of you that just can’t, or even for those that do but are occasionally lazy, Bioré Make-Up Removing Towelettes (30-count $7.99) effectively removes makeup and is oil-free. If you’re seeking a budget friendly, yet effective, skin care line, check out the Pond’s Luminous Clean. Luminous Clean Cream Cleanser ($7.50), Luminous Clean Daily Exfoliating Cleanser ($7.50), and Luminous Moisture Day Lotion with SPF 15 ($6.70). Back to Bioré, if you’re seeking acne prevention or treatment products The Makeup Examiner recommends Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub ($5.47) or Bioré Acne Clearing Scrub ($5.47).

Now that we’ve gotten through some skin care advice, let’s move onto the fun stuff! To conceal or not to conceal … that is the question. For B-I-T’s, don't believe sales clerks who tell you that you absolutely must wear foundation. If you have gorgeous skin and chances are that you do, why cover it up? Opt for a light BB cream and this goes for seasoned beautynistas too. Although The Makeup Examiner is head-over-heels about Pond’s brand new Luminous Finish BB+ Cream ($9.99), the formula may be too much for B-I-T’s. An amazing budget friendly BB cream is Revlon PhotoReady BB Cream Skin Perfector ($9.99), as it’s a lighter formula.

If you want to add a little kiss of blush, or really go for contouring, CoverGirl Clean Glow Blush ($6.94) is the way to go. CG’s Clean Glow Blush is a 3-in-1 multi-shade compact that will let you customize your color. And you can use just one color or all three. Moving onto the eyes, The Makeup Examiner discovered NYC New York Color Cosmetics and was blown away that this super budget friendly brand delivered products that are highly pigmented and work amazingly well.

NYC New York Color introduced several products earlier this year starting with HD Color Trio Eyeshadow ($2.99) offered in 12 different color palettes giving endless options to play. Next on the NYC Color list is Big Bold Curl Mascara ($4.99), which has a hydrating keratin-rich formula and offers those big, bold lashes that are so hot this season. For B-I-T’s, The Makeup Examiner recommends investing in an eyelash curler, and possibly forgoing mascara. Last, but so far from least, is Big Bold Plumping Lip Gloss ($3.99), available in 12 luscious shades NYC’s lip gloss offers both a mega shine and lip plumping for the perfect pout.

Wrapping up your back-to-school budget beauty bounty is Jesse’s Girl Cosmetics nail lacquers. The brand has twice collaborated with Julie G, first on the Julie G Nail Polish Collection ($3.99) and again on Jesse’s Girl Cosmetics Julie G Frosted Gum Drops line ($3.99). The Makeup Examiner as a quick little secret for grabbing more savings: Before you head to the store, check out a brand’s Facebook page, as they often post coupons. For example, Pond’s is currently offering an addition $2 coupon off of their BB cream. And hey, if you lovelies know of any great deals, share them in the comment section!