Saturday, August 15, 2009

Make-up for your alter ego....


From across the pond comes Illamasqua, an edgy line of makeup with a heart of gold. (The never-tested-on-animals brand also supports worthy causes.) Known for their intense colors and dramatic makeup, Illamasqua is your go-to brand for nighttime makeup—whether it's an evening out at the opera or the dance club. Conceived amidst the dark drama of Berlin in the 20s, Illamasqua was developed by professional makeup artists and launched in 2008 in the U.K. Embraced by celebs and alternative cultures alike, their colors allow you to express your most daring, boldest, and most intense sides with professional nighttime makeup that's richly pigmented and long lasting. Are you ready to release your night-vixen alter ego?

Currently, it's sold only at Sephora and you simply have got to check it out!

• Eye-catching Nail Varnishes ($14) help you make a bold statement. Try the daring hues on your tootsies if you just want to dip your toe in the trend.

• Eye Liner Cake ($21), a pressed-powder product, lets you create a dramatic look.

• Lightweight Liquid Metal (Beauty Wonkette's personal favorite) ($24; pictured) adds shimmer wherever you need it: on your eyes, cheekbones, or body. Go for the gold!

Everybody MUST get STONED....


Is Beauty Wonkette celebrating the 40th anniversary of Woodstock? Nahhhhhhh..... This is about getting a spa-worthy massage for $25!

Regular massages fight colds, PMS and the blues--plus they feel blissful, to boot. But who has the time (and cash) to see a masseuse every week?

So when Beauty Wonkette stumbled on JimmyJane's Contour M ceramic massage stone, our tense shoulders and stiff neck practically yelped at the chance to get some much-kneaded attention. Use these tricks and you'll be addicted, too:

Rub the right way.
The domed side of the stone serves as an all-over muscle relaxer; the flip side features four small nodes that go deep into muscle tissue to iron out serious kinks.

Turn up the heat.
Dunk the stone in a bowl of hot water for a soothing rubdown. Just add a drizzle of your favorite massage oil and you'll turn your tight muscles to jelly.

Take a chill pill.
One morning, our A/C wasn't working fast enough, so we stuck the stone in the fridge for a few minutes. Rubbing the cool ceramic on our overheated neck and shoulder muscles jolted us awake.

Beauty Wonkette is sure your guy would like to get stoned too! Hell, it wouldn't hurt your mom and dad to get stoned either. :D

Beauty Wonkette's Plea to Guys Everywhere: DON'T SHAVE YOUR JUNK

A few weeks back, Gillette launched this giant campaign encouraging guys to manscape. It really grossed Beauty Wonkette out, even more so than their women's "mow the lawn" ads, which were just dumb (and this from a gal dedicated to brazilians).

After a few conversations with guy friends drunk on hairless-ball kool-aid, Beauty Wonkette realized that, holy cow, these ads were indeed making men think they should be shaving their balls. Guys. Please. Take it from us, the ones on the, uh, receiving end of this grooming trend. A shorn coinpurse is about as sexy as a raw cornish game hen. Seriously.

Suffering a Summergency? Read this before calling 911

Summer isn't all scoping out hot lifeguards and ditching work early on Fridays. Oh, no. The season is rife with nasty surprises -- sunburns, bikini lines gone wrong, and shaving mishaps. Here, Beauty Wonkette helps you treat some of these common summertime snafus.

The Summergency: A painful sunburn in a lovely shade of Carrot Top red.
The Remedy: For starters, try wearing sunblock next time, genius. Until then, ease the pain of the burn by popping a couple of aspirin, bathing in cool water (adding oatmeal to the bath can help soothe skin), and applying a healing aloe gel and/or after-sun treatment to the affected areas. Drinking lots of water will help you feel less dehydrated. You can also try applying honey or white vinegar to the damaged skin to help it heal.


The Summergency: Your skin is peeling off in big sheets.
The Remedy: For some, peeling skin is like bubble wrap -- you just can't get enough. For the rest of us, it's gross, unsightly, and makes us think of Buffalo Bill's fleshwear (shudder). To avoid the dreaded Saran Wrap-skin syndrome, take a cold shower or bath, which will slow down the peeling process. Post-shower, apply a hydrating aloe vera lotion, which will soothe the skin, fight dryness and help you avoid infections. Do your best to avoid picking and peeling at the skin, even if it itches. Scratching can lead to scars and infections, so simply trim excess skin with a small pair of scissors and apply an antibacterial cream over the area. The bright side: It will all be over in a few days.

The Summergency: Your sweaty pits are leaking onto your clothes.
The Remedy: Sweat stains are the pits, aren't they? Showering daily and wearing a strong, effective deodorant is the first step to avoiding this pitfall. You should also avoid synthetic fabrics in favor of something breathable like cotton; also wear loose garments rather than tight tops that hug the armpit. If you do sweat through a shirt, try to remove the sweat soon as you can, because sweat is acidic and can cause a permanent stain if left untreated. A trick to try: Apply shampoo to the sweaty area, then rinse in cold water. Many also swear by white vinegar and aspirin mixed with water to treat pit stains.


The Summergency: You were too broke for the Brazilian so you went for the recessionista bikini shave ... and have the rash to prove it.
The Remedy: Using a razor to keep our bikini lines tidy is cheaper than a wax or hair removal cream, but it increases the risk of inflammation and ingrown hairs. For the latter, use tweezers to pick out any rogue hairs. As for those painful red bumps, hydrocortisone cream, witch hazel, aloe vera and apple cider vinegar can all help soothe the burn. You can apply lotion to the area, but be sure that it is free from perfumes or dyes, which will further irritate the area. Try to stay out of the water until the rash goes away, as salt water can make the area sting. And to avoid this pesky problem next time you shave, be sure to use shaving gel, shave with the grain, and use a new, sharp razor blade.

Pucker up!


Wouldn't you like to brighten your teeth, freshen breath and prettify your pout with just one swipe? Beauty Wonkette surely would! Well, my sweet wonkettes, read on...

They say the pen is mightier than the sword.

And when it comes to getting a brighter, more beautiful smile, using IntelliWhite's Pout & Polish pen regularly might keep you from ever needing a harsh laser or bleaching kit.

The dual-sided pen packs a gentle stain remover on one end, and a vitamin-packed lip-plumping gloss (in clear or sheer pink) that freshens your breath on the other. And thanks to a breakthrough peroxide-free formula, it's the first stain remover that's safe to use all day long (and on dental work). Whip it out after a cup of tea, coffee or a glass of red wine to polish your pearly whites before stains set.

Pencil us in for a stellar smile.

Have you got Moxie?


Beauty Wonkette is grateful to Australia for Eric Bana, Russell Crowe, and shrimp on the barbie. Now, we can add Moxie to the list.

The down under import for down there just arrived at Duane Reade stores. And they ain't your mama's pads. The super-slim and sleek feminine hygiene goods come in cute candy-striped containers that just beg to be toted around. Besides being adorable, the tins mean gone are the days of fishing out your wallet, only to have a crumb-crusted, ink-stained panty liner fall out instead.

The 100% recyclable products include Slenders Pads ($6.50 for 12), Sleepover Pads ($6.50 for 10) so you can snooze through the night without worry, and the Slenders Panty Liners ($6 for 24) for light days.

Your white pants--and your handbag--have never looked so good.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

A new cult is about to be born!


If you're not familiar with Yu-Be, its cult following (which includes almost the entire population of Japan) and Beauty Wonkette collectively pities you. Around for half a century, this pharmacist-founded brand is best-known for its medicated Moisturizing Skin Cream; and for years, it's all they made. Recently, however, they launched a few new products, one of which is decidedly not a moisturizer.

When Beauty Wonkette saw that Yu-Be had stepped outside of their specialty to create a Foaming Skin Polish, we were initially skeptical. "Stick to what you know," is common advice. But ultimately, we're sooo glad Yu-Be expanded their horizons with this face-and-body cleansing scrub because it has rocked Beauty Wonkette's world.

Rice bran, walnut and bamboo are used for exfoliation, ginger and ginseng provide toning benefits, and camphor, geranium and green tea simultaneously calm and energize your skin. The paraben- and sulfate-free formula washes without harsh consequences.

And while this may not be a moisturizer, per se, it does, indeed, moisturize. The glycerin found in Yu-Be creams is also in Foaming Skin Polish, so your now-smoother skin feels softer and healthier, too.

a 7oz tube is $18 at Sephora - online only !

Arm yourself!!!


No matter the body type, one particular part of the female physique seems to garner the most complaints from its owners: the upper arm. (And almost all of us have two of them! Alas!) Whether you feel they're too thick or unforgivably flabby, their current condition may have you moving sleeveless tops to the back of your closet.

Now Beauty Wonkette thinks the ultimate solution to this problem is fairly easily solved with lots and lots of bicep curls, tricep extensions, dips, (pant, pant, sweat, sweat....), but Beauty Wonkette's lovely Aunt Suzy is, shall we say, not from the sweat set.

Well, there are lots of firming body creams out there, but Beauty Wonkette has to give Orlane kudos for recognizing the unique changes our arms go through with age—loss of density and elasticity, slowed circulation, fat accumulation—and formulating a cream specifically for this area. The ingredients of Refining Arm Cream were meticulously selected for the impact they can have up our sleeves.

Specifically, Orlane has chosen shiitake mushroom due to its ability to codify collagen; Peruvian golden chamomile, for its draining and preventative effects on fatty masses; and an almond protein compound that can hold onto tissues in such a way that it seemingly redefines your arms.

If you commit yourself to twice-a-day application, Orlane says you'll see firmer, more toned arms in less than two months. In fact, everyone will see firmer, more toned arms, because you'll finally start going sleeveless again! Beauty Wonkette's Aunt Suzy is very happy with the stuff and you can pick it up in just about any fine department store....

Cross the Bklyn Bridge for Skinny Skinny :D


It's easy to get stuck in a beauty rut, but trust Beauty Wonkette, it's just as easy to break out of one. Typically use a body lotion to moisturize? Try switching to an oil. Never pay attention to what's in your products? Give organic ingredients a shot. And it just so happens that today, Beauty Wonkette can recommend something that fits both bills.

Wind-powered, Brooklyn-based brand skinnyskinnythere are multiple meanings behind its name, none of which involve weight — offers a host of certified-organic goods, of which Beauty Wonkette's current favorite is the Botanically-Infused Jasmine & Green Tea Body Oil.

Packaged in a recyclable glass pump with a biodegradable label, this vegan recipe infuses skin with the soothing, nourishing benefits of oils from its title ingredients, jojoba, chamomile, rose, lavender, calendula, hemp seed, coconut, and borage. Almost magical in so many ways, it absorbs instantly, leaving behind only soft, subtly scented skin—and that scent is sublime.

We love the indie-chic feel of skinnyskinny's eco-friendly presentation just as much as the product itself. But it's how Botanically-Infused Jasmine & Green Tea Body Oil leaves our skin (and conscience) feeling that we appreciate most.

If you buy it now, they'll also throw in a free lip balm, and we allllll love freebies!

LEGENDARY! The best dupe for SkinMedica's recently discontinued TNS Advanced+ Serum

  Recently SkinMedica discontinued the TNS Essential Serum and their TNS Advanced+ Serum is seen as the upgraded version.  But Beauty Wonket...