From byrdie

My grandmother is a lovely Southern woman from Kentucky. For as long as I can remember, she’s worn strong floral scents. That being said, I knew by age six that florals were not my cup of tea. Her male counterpart, my grandfather, was actually the one who helped me realize why I didn’t care for floral scents. Until the day he died, he wore an intoxicating cologne that had notes of oud and tobacco. I could smell him from a football field away, and that remains one of my favorite things about him.

The intense and happy memories that I have of him are so deeply connected to his signature scent. So when I was in middle school and started shopping for perfumes for school dances, I always knew there were two things I didn’t want my perfume to be—floral or feminine. Scents with that profile just didn’t feel like me.

My personal aesthetic is all about minimalism, neutral colors, and always having a little bit of an edge, so I look for perfumes to complement that. The goal is to find perfumes that are intriguing but not overpowering. Think clean, woodsy, beachy scents with hints of sage, oud, or driftwood. I think of fragrances as an extension of my mood or outfit, so it’s important that I feel like each scent is just a better-smelling version of myself that’s beautifully packaged in a glass bottle. In my 25 years, I’ve searched far and wide for scents that fit the aforementioned criteria, and I’ve found more than a handful of winners. If you’re anti-floral like me, prepare to fall in love with these intriguing fragrances.

This is where my love of fragrance started. I was buying a gift for a friend and received a sample of this, and after I inhaled the refreshingly clean yet woodsy scent I was hooked. It’s a permanent part of my fragrance collection and has become my go-to perfume for when I want to feel strong, confident, and alluring.

I remember sneaking into my mom’s bathroom to steal a few sprays of her perfume when I was growing up. I was always mesmerized by one particular bottle of Tom Ford. Years later, while on a routine trip to Sephora, I started spraying this a beautiful black bottle of Oud Wood and was just as entranced as before. The blend of oud wood, sandalwood, amber, and vetiver combine to create the perfect scent for a night out or a morning at a coffee shop.

I know what you’re thinking, “Doesn’t she know that fleur means flower?” Mais, oui. However, this perfume doesn’t smell like florals. It smells like musk and pink peppercorns and amber all joined forces to create the perfect scent. It’s clean and soft like a cotton shirt that’s fresh from the dryer, yet sensual and warm like the perfect summer night.

This was actually my favorite scent in middle school. I was drawn to both its woodsy-cinnamon profile and its whimsical baroque bottle. I was actually sad when it suddenly disappeared from Sephora shelves. I’m thrilled that it’s back at the retailer and ready to rejoin my perfume collection. If you’re apprehensive to try this perfume, remember that 10K loves on Sephora don’t lie.

I think everyone has smelled Light Blue at least once. It’s an oldie but a goodie in the fragrance world. The mix of citrus, bamboo, amber, and musk will never fail you. It’s great for literally any occasion, and it’s always a crowd-pleaser. The clean and romantic scent will make you feel like a happier, more seductive version of yourself.

Looking for more non-floral fragrance options? Try one of these perfumes that smell like a clean white T-shirt.

Next up,10 Things Italian Girls Are Asking For This Holiday Season

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

Concealer is the one staple in a woman’s beauty arsenal that can dramatically change your appearance. Used correctly, concealer can brighten a tired face, it can cover up blemishes and it can totally conceal under-eye circles. In fact, many beauty editors use concealer primarily and skip foundation completely.

I find many women are afraid of concealers because they don’t know how to find the right shade or apply it properly. It can be daunting, but once you know the basics and try the application process below, you’ll find concealer may be your best beauty purchase to date.

See my picks for the top 10 concealers.

Choose Your Perfect Concealer

There are so many types of concealers on the market, choosing one can be daunting. Keep in mind concealer is not a beauty product to scrimp on.

A basic rule of thumb is to choose a concealer that’s yellow-based and a shade or two lighter than your skin tone. Don’t go too light or you could end up with the dreaded raccoon look. If your skin is darker in summer, you should choose a darker shade for summer months and a lighter one for other months.

To test shades, try them out at department store beauty counters or Sephora. Just don’t get suckered into a full-makeover at the cosmetics counter.

For more detailed information, read how to choose the right shade of concealer.

Should You Apply Concealer Before or After Foundation?

This depends on where you’re using the concealer. For under-eye circles, apply concealer first, then foundation. For blemishes and pimple coverage, apply foundation first or the concealer could be rubbed away in the foundation application.

How to Apply Concealer

Concealer looks most natural when you work in “sheer layers and build it up gradually,” according to the editors of Allure’s “Confessions of a Beauty Editor” (buy it from Amazon).

There’s no one way to apply concealer. Sometimes I use my fingers, most days I use Sephora’s classic concealer brush, which I was told about by a makeup expert (buy it from Sephora).

Follow these directions to get great results:

1. Apply several dots of concealer under the eyes close to the lashes. Apply a dot to the inside corners of the eyes. You can use your finger or, for best results, use a concealer brush.
2. Using the pad of your middle finger or your brush, tap in the concealer (always tap, never rub). Make sure to blend well. You can also use your index finger. There’s no real rule to it, but I find the middle finger tends to be more gentle.
3. Apply concealer on other uneven spots on the face — including the chin, and around the nose and mouth if need be — and tap in.
4. Apply another layer if you need more coverage.
5. Dust fine, loose powder over your face to set your concealer. According to makeup artist Scott Barnes in Allure Magazine, loose powder applied with a fluffy brush is “the secret to good concealer.”

Click Play to Learn 5 Ways You Can Use Concealer from MUA Bob Scott

How to Disguise Dark Under-eye Circles

It’s best not to use your basic concealer to try to disguise dark under-eye circles. Instead, choose an “under-eye concealer” specially formulated to cover up dark spots. These work by brightening the dark areas under the eyes and are not to be used to camouflage redness or blemishes.

For more detailed information, read how to cover up under-eye circles.

How to Cover Up a Pimple

When it comes to covering up a pimple, I recommend applying a liquid bandage over the pimple to protect it and then applying layers of concealer and translucent powder.

Find out more in How to Cover Up a Pimple.

To heal pimples faster, try this recipe for an Aspirin Face Mask.

How to Disguise Pockmarks and Deep Scars

You can disguise a concave pockmark or scar by using an angled brush dipped in a concealer that’s a shade lighter than your skin tone. Fill in the center of the pockmark without going over the edges and then dust skin with translucent powder. If the scar is raised, use a concealer that matches your skin tone and pat the scar with the concealer, setting the concealer with powder.

See How to Cover Acne Scars.

Does Concealer Work on Under-Eye Bags?

Concealer is actually not a good bet for downplaying under eye bags. Instead, makeup artist Dick Page recommends pearl highlighter, which acts as an optical illusion, making you look more awake. Page dots the highlighter on the inner corner of eyes, under the lower lids and on the outer corner of the brow.

How to Fix a Cake-y Concealer

As we get older, our skin becomes drier (this seemed to happen to me overnight on the day I turned 35). Dehydrated skin can cause your concealer to “cake up” on your skin. Fix this by moisturizing your face before applying concealer. Then blend your concealer with a bit of foundation in the palm of your hand. This helps break up the thickness of the concealer, which can sit heavily on your face.

Next up, This Is the Easiest Way to Save Money on Every Single Gift

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

When it comes to international beauty products, Korean and French women are often the ones who get the most attention, but Italians have a unique perspective on beauty, too. I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a good deal of time in Italy. I lived in a small northeastern Italian mountain town for the whole month of January 2018, and it was just as magical as it sounds. While there, I made dozens of Italian friends and was exposed to all their cool beauty and style habits, like how they always do a super-sultry smoky eye on nights out and how everyone (literally everyone) is obsessed with all things Adidas.

So naturally, when putting together holiday gift guides this year, I had to get back in touch with my amiche Italiane to figure out what exactly is on their wish lists this year. Want to see what Italian girls want for the holidays this year? Keep scrolling for 10 Italia-inspired ideas.

Italian skincare brand Borghese is expensive enough that Italian girls wait all year to ask for it for the holidays. In fact, the brand is named after an Italian princess from the 1930s named Marcella Borghese, who was famous for her ample beauty routine. Fancy, huh? This new holiday set is on many an Italian wish list this year.

Italian women don’t typically wear colorful eye shadow on the daily, but when they do, it’s ideally Huda Beauty. Indeed, Italian women have fallen in love with the American cult brand—to the point that this palette is the best-selling makeup product on Sephora.it.

Every Italian girl has a go-to nude lip in her arsenal, and this year, Fenty products have blown up in the Italian market. Last month, this Fenty nude liquid lip earned a place in Vogue Italia, meaning thousands of Italian girls are officially jonesing for a tube.

This bold Dolce & Gabbana fragrance was inspired by Sicily. The radiant scent contains bergamot, jasmine, and sandalwood and comes in a glamorous gold-engraved bottle.

Italian women are hyper-focused on having a blemish-free complexion, and this pore-shrinking pineapple mask is the number one skincare product on Sephora.it. With its cute packaging and affordable price, Italian women will definitely be giving one to each of their friends this holiday season.

Go to any city in Italy, and you can expect to find Adidas on almost every woman’s feet. Naturally, what do all Italian girls want for the holidays? A spiffy new pair.

Even if they’re not wearing any other makeup, Italians are all about the mascara. This high-end tube is on holiday wish lists from Naples to Milan thanks to its volumizing effect, jet-black color, and lash-strengthening formula.

Even if they’re not wearing any other makeup, Italians are all about the mascara. This high-end tube is on holiday wish lists from Naples to Milan thanks to its volumizing effect, jet-black color, and lash-strengthening formula.

If you think American women care about looking bronzy and sunkissed, go to Italy. Even in the dead of winter, it’s tan or bust. This luxurious tinted sunscreen may be a touch pricey to buy on an average day but makes the perfect Italian-girl gift.

Body-slimming products are also all the rage in Italy, as is this French pharmacy brand, whose firming body cream is an Italian Sephora best seller.

Next up,How to Properly Apply Concealer

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

Hello, my name is Amanda, and I am tired. I don’t recall exactly when fatigue became such a constant and loyal little friend of mine, but for the past 15 years at least, I have devoted much of my life to figuring out how to feel less tired, and when that doesn’t work, I focus my attention on at least how to look less tired. For this reason, under-eye concealer and I have a lot of history.

As a beauty editor, I have nailed down exactly what I’m looking for in an under-eye concealer. This is different than what I’m looking for in, say, a foundation or a spot concealer to cover blemishes or discoloration. When it comes to camouflaging my weary, cadaver-esque, so-purple-they’re-almost-black dark circles, I’m interested in a few key features: The concealer must be actively hydrating (because my under-eye skin is so delicate and dry), smooth and blendable (again, the dryness), buildable (so I can go from light coverage on the days when I somehow look semi-alive to full-coverage on the days when I wake up undead), and natural-looking (like human skin, so I can wear just some under-eye concealer, brow gel, and a lip stain and trick people into thinking I rolled out of bed that way).

I have tried around 100 concealers in my day, but for my under-eyes, these are the only 10 I really, really stand by. Are you tired? Cool. Keep scrolling to see what to buy to look like you’re not.

That this beloved, best-selling concealer ended up on my list will come as no surprise to makeup fiends. Ultimately, I truly find that in terms of shade range (there are 30 in total), coverage, blendability, long wear, and crease-free formula, this might be the single best concealer on the market. Mango seed and shea butters make the texture creamy and hydrating. Apply this with your fingers, a Beautyblender, or a brush. You really can’t go wrong.

This is a recent favorite from the new K-beauty-inspired Sephora brand Kaja, and over the past couple of months, it’s actually become the concealer I reach for the most. The super-brightening formula is probably the most liquidy on this list, which is perfect for super-dry, flake-prone under-eyes like mine. The coverage claims to be light-to-medium and buildable, but I find that no matter how tired I look, I can make it work. (My favorite way to apply it is with my fingers, which makes things very simple.)

“Age rewind” and “dark circle eraser” are some enticing and very bold claims. When this $10 concealer starting blowing up on beauty gurus’ YouTube channels three or four years ago, I was skeptical that it would work in real life as well as it seemed to on camera. Long story short: It is a damn good under-eye corrector. The applicator sponge is so user-friendly, the formula is lightweight and applies smoothly, and it has an impressive brightening effect. Not to mention the ingredient list features wrinkle-fighting goodies like goji berry and haloxyl, which treat the skin while concealing.

I was really late to the Lock-It Concealer party, but I’m so glad I showed up eventually. On the days when my dark circles are laughably pronounced, I reach for this super-full-coverage, long-wearing product, which is so intense it can even cover up tattoos without creasing. The texture is thicker than most of the others on this list but still hydrating. Gotta love that it’s also noncomedogenic, vegan, and cruelty-free.

Here’s another full-coverage option that’s newer to the market. Jouer’s recently launched liquid concealer is also on the thicker side of this list, but it’s still blendable, creamy, and does a bang-up job of camouflaging dark circles. I also dig that the formula is rich with anise fruit extract and vitamin E, which make the skin bright and glowy instead of dull and zombie-like.

This Japanese, makeup artist–beloved brand makes a liquid concealer so heartstoppingly expensive and with a shade range so confusingly limited (literally three colors) that I almost didn’t put it on this list. But in the interest of telling the truth, I had to because the fact of the matter is that I freaking love this stuff. It applies so smoothly and is mad hydrating thanks to its nourishing formula packed with the brand’s signature T3 oil, a non-greasy blend of jojoba oil, olive squalane, and shea butter. It’s also got these light-reflecting gold pigments that help your under-eyes look so bright and luminous it’s as if you’ve never known weariness or had a bad night of sleep. I know it’s upsettingly pricy, but… just put it on your Hanukkah list.

To help you get over the sticker shock of that last one, I present a $5 concealer that comes in 28 shades (including a few color-correcting hues—reach for the orange and peach tones to counteract those purply under-eyes). It applies like slightly melted butter and stays put all day without creasing. The coverage is light-to-medium, so maybe not ideal for the days when you wake up looking like an actual corpse, but on the plus side, it’s definitely natural-looking and never cakey.

One of my favorite concealer launches of the year comes from Laura Mercier—whose iconic Secret Camouflage formulation is a little too thick and drying for my under-eye—but whose new liquid concealer is freaking perfect. The medium- to full-coverage concealer is insanely lightweight and diffuses light beautifully enough to have earned an almost perfect Sephora rating since it launched.

Ever since this creamy, crease-free formula launched a few years back, it has been a go-to in my makeup arsenal. Major points for offering such high coverage while still truly looking like natural “naked” skin.

With over 630K “loves” on Sephora.com, Nars’s Cream Concealer is a classic for a reason: The light-diffusing medium-to-full coverage hydrates and nourishes the skin with the help of magnolia bark extract, grape-seed extract, and vitamin E.

Next up,How to Get All Your Beauty Essentials Through TSA: A Guide

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

There’s nothing worse than packing. Well, except maybe unpacking. But the narrowing down of the beauty products and the struggle that comes with trying to fit them all into a small Ziploc bag comes close. Luckily, the beauty industry is well aware of and feels our pain. They’ve managed to come up with a solution to every product that previously existed on the TSA-will-throw-away list. We’ve come up with a few tricks of our own over the years, too.

Scroll through for a complete guide on how to get everything you need (and more) through airport security!

Traveling sans dry shampoo is impossible. Traveling sans aerosol dry shampoo isn’t. Swap your usual aerosol can for an equally effective and TSA-friendly powder dry shampoo like Verb’s Dry Shampoo ($16)

Think face wash means a big, bulky bottle (3.4 ounces+) of liquid? Think again. Skip liquids and choose powder cleanser. We like Colorescience’s Sunforgettable Loose Mineral Sunscreen Brush Broad Spectrum SPF 50.

Anything you can’t get in powder form, you can find in solid form. Choose solid perfumes like Elizabeth and James’s Nirvana Black and bar cleansers like Drunk Elephant’s Pekee Bar($28). And if you’re not into powder sunscreen, you can get that in solid form, too. Try MDSolarSciences’s Mineral Sunscreen Stick SPF 40.

When you’ve run out of swaps, consolidate your must-haves into tiny, travel-friendly containers. Enter: the contact lens case. Fill one side with serum and the other with lotion, and you’re set for the week (yes, really a week—we’ve done it). If you need more volume, try Humangear’s GoToobs. They’re still a manageable size, and they’re leak-proof and easy to clean.

Most beauty counters have samples of skincare products—don’t be afraid to ask. And if they don’t have samples of what you need, you can ask one of the associates to make you a sample of your favorite product. The cast members at Sephora do this all the time (it’s a great way to test new foundations, too).

Streamline your makeup bag by choosing multi-tasking products like Wander Beauty’s On-The-Glow Blush and Illuminator ($42). You get blush, bronzer, and luminizer all in one convenient stick. This works for powder formulas, too. Just pick contour palette or even a marbled pressed powder. Too Faced’s Pink Leopard Blushing Bronzer that gives you a few different colors to choose from.

Speaking of multitasking beauty, bring your balm. Cleanse, remove makeup, moisturize, shave, and more—do it all with the balm of your choice. We happen to love One Love Organics’s Skin Savior Waterless Beauty Balm ($49).

Makeup removing wipes, cleansing wipes, self-tanning wipes, nail polish removing wipes, even deodorant wipes—you can get it all in towelette form now. Stash DermaDoctor’s Med-E-Tate Antiperspirant Wipes ($48) in your carry-on and stay fresh for your flight and your trip.

Mini anything and everything is a TSA dream. Sephora’s On-the-Fly section is a great place to stock up on baby versions of everything from mascara to face masks. We hoard these Traveler Strengthening Base & Top ($8) from Côte. Paint your nails before you leave and this little guy is all you’ll need. A cuticle oil pen will also help keep your manicure looking fresh without taking up precious space.

Did you know you can get shampoo in bar form? Yes, Lush has thought of everything. Choose from 12 varieties, and you’re set for 80 on-the-go washes without taking up an inch of 3-1-1 space.

Sheet masks were made for travel. As were mask pods and all single-serve beauty treatments. Stash a Ouai Treatment Masque ($32) and a Nugg Beauty Mask Pod ($18) in your bag so you can beautify without the bulk.

Better yet, mask before you leave. Apply a thin layer of a skin-perfecting, moisturizing mask, allow it to absorb inflight and arrive with glowing, hydrated skin. Skin Inc.’s Pure Deepsea Hydrating Mask ($75) clarifies and brightens while it moisturizes—we never fly without it.

And finally, to protect your beauty strands and skin, sleep on silk. You wake up to smooth skin and frizz-free tresses, which means fewer products in the long run. Slipsilk Pure Silk Pillowcase ($79) is the gold standard in silk pillowcases. They also make aneye mask ($39) for optimal inflight sleeping comfort.

Next up, Exclusive: The Real Reason Pharrell Doesn’t Age

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

Pharrell Williams is one of those rare celebrities who falls into the category of “legend.” With a music career that spans over two decades, a coveted judge seat on one of the most popular shows on television, The Voice, a long-standing Adidas partnership, and a media collective called i am OTHER—oh, and seven Grammys (does a song called “Happy” ring a bell?)—Pharrell is an ever-growing force in our pop culture zeitgeist who shows absolutely no plans of slowing down. His latest venture? The music and style icon recently teamed up with Sephora to release a woodsy, pungent, unisex fragrance called Girl ($135), the same name as his Grammy-nominated latest album.

We got a chance to sit down with the man himself at the Sephora store on Hollywood and Highland and pick his brain on everything from his first cologne to his favorite beauty look on a woman (no judgment if you skip ahead to that part). Turns out Pharrell is every bit as calm, genuine, and introspective as he is a trendsetter and boundary-breaker—which is exactly why his legions of fans adore him, and why they’ll keep doing so for years to come.

Keep scrolling to read our interview with Pharrell!

Tell us a little about fragrance and what it means to you.

Williams: First of all, fragrance is the paint to the air. And I think anyone that wears it wears it because they feel like it may define what they may feel about themselves. You smell something and there’s a sentiment; you smell something and there’s an emotion, a sensation. Girl, the fragrance, may define certain people in who they currently are, or it may define certain people in terms of their aspirations of who they want to be.

That makes sense—you can’t see it, but you can feel it.

Williams: Right. Fragrance is the paint of the air… the music of the air. The paint to the nose, the music to the nose. You can’t see it, but it’s there. It hits you. While that is the case, I think that it also can be an exclamation point to someone’s character, and evoke an emotion.

Was there an emotion you were feeling when you created the fragrance?

Williams: I think I put more intention into it than emotion. It’s something for human beings. While women are obviously my muses, any human being can wear it.

Can you explain?

Williams: I’m all about equality. If you look at the Adidas logo I have, it’s the equal sign—and make no mistake, it’s two yellow ones, because it’s a long road. I’m just trying to use these platforms that are bigger than me to say something. It’s not about having my face on a t-shirt, it’s not about having my face on my sneakers, or on my fragrance, I’m just trying to push things forward. I just try to push equality wherever I can.

How was creating a perfume similar to what you feel like when you’re in the studio laying down tracks?

Pharrell: They’re both concoctions. When the chemists are putting together the perfume notes—the notes, to the nose—these notes are intentions. What is a note? A note is an intention. He’s putting all the intentions into the fragrance. When I’m making a track, I’m putting all the intentions in there. They both intend to connect, conspire, work together, to give you this concerted effort of a composition. To touch you in a certain way.

Do you remember the first fragrance you ever bought or owned?

Pharrell: Yes, my first cologne was Ralph Lauren, my second was Creed. And then I began wearing Fahrenheit—I loved how different it smelled. And then I didn’t wear fragrance again for a couple of years until I came across Comme de Garçon’s Wonderwood.

That isn’t any coincidence, since the brand designed your perfume bottle, right?

Pharrell: Rei Kawakubo is a genius. Adrian Joffe is a genius. Ronnie Newhouse, who introduced me to them, actually got me my first jacket from them. She’s a genius too. She worked on the creative direction of the fragrance. She brought on KAZ. After she saw all the KAZ work in our home, she realized it was a big part of my life, the way I express. All of those great minds conspired to bring this fragrance together.

You seem to possess the remarkable ability of not aging. What’s your secret?

Williams: Well, first of all, my mom and dad. I have to thank them. But also, maintenance! You know? Sustaining what you have. The most important thing you can do to look after your face is… you look after your face. Look at what you have going on; if you have a dermatologist, have that conversation. It doesn’t take augmentation to sustain—but to each his own.

You have to have some sort of routine or tip to share with us.

Williams: For me, I just clean my face like anyone else. I use cold water to close my pores… very basic things. You’d be surprised what awareness and vigilance can do for you—in all areas of your life, not just your skin.

That’s very true. Your skin can be a reflection of what’s going on inside, too.

Williams: Yes. I think the most important part is the awareness and vigilance. There’s no product that can give you that. It’s never going to take care of your face like awareness and vigilance. That’s the number-one thing for me.

Last question: What’s your favorite beauty look on a woman? We have a feeling our readers are dying to know.

Williams: I like it when women are perfectly comfortable in their skin. Whether you wear makeup or not, you’re still shining from the inside. You can be the most socially judged and aesthetically deemed person, but you can have an ugly personality. Or you can meet someone whose face has been mangled in a car accident who has the most beautiful soul. Beauty is on the inside; all else is superficial. No matter how beautiful you are now, you are going to age. And you maintain your beauty by sustaining what you have, but the most important thing you have is what you have on the inside.

Next up,The Surprising Brazilian Beauty Secrets I Learned From My Roommate

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

To be clear, no, I have not moved in with Gisele, Tom, and their kids. (Adoption papers still pending.) However, my newest roommate does have shiny and sun-bleached hair, legs for days, and impeccably flawless skin. She’s Brazilian, her name is Andrea Nabinger, and though she doesn’t currently walk the runways, she most definitely could—so naturally, I had to interview her.

Not only is it in my job description to play Nancy Drew when it comes to people’s beauty routines (especially if they could very well be Gisele Bündchen’s doppelgänger), but nothing is more exciting than an investigation into another culture. And to be honest, I had so many questions.

From her must-have makeup and skincare products to Brazil’s best-kept beauty secrets, I needed to know everything. And two hours, one makeup bag, and a couple glasses of chardonnay later, I have some answers. Keep reading for a crash course lesson in Brazilian beauty.

Plastic Surgery Isn’t Taboo

In fact, far from it. It’s only a few seconds into our interview, and without batting an eyelash Andrea tells me that women in Brazil “are very very worried about their appearance—giving a lot of care to their skin, body, and the idea of maintaining a youthful look.” She adds that Brazil also ranks at the top of the list for plastic surgeries—especially, she says, for breast augmentation. Intrigued, I quickly tapped a search into Google and sure enough, she’s completely correct. The United States (at 4,310,180 surgeries per year) comes in at number one, with Brazil sitting in a cozy second place at 2,427,535.

She also mentions that women strive to achieve and maintain a trim, youthful figure, but again, many women rely on surgical procedures and it’s not as common to exercise and workout as it is in America. “In general, women don’t care all that much about being healthy—they want to look good, but they want quick results and opt for treatments to help get them there quickly,” she says.

Of course, there are exceptions, and it would be a disservice to make the universal assumption that every Brazilian woman gets, or for that matter wants plastic surgery. However, prior to the interview, I asked Andrea for the uncensored truth, and so far she is delivering.

In general, women don’t care all that much about being healthy—they want to look good, but they want quick results and opt for treatments to help get them there quickly.

In the same vein, she shares that it’s much harder to find healthy and organic foods in Brazil, and as someone who values a sustainable, all-natural diet, she really loves that about living in the United States. Obsessed with places like Beaming, Mainland Poke, and Whole Foods, she has settled into the Angeleno lifestyle quite easily, and she and I both laugh as we commiserate our many lost dollars to typical L.A. fodder like green smoothies and gluten-free cookies.

Nail Appointments Are a Must

In addition to hair appointments at the salon, (“everyone wants to be blonde,” Andrea says with exasperation), weekly manicures and pedicures are sacredly routine, and it’s actually one of the things she misses most about home. Salons are around every corner, and regardless of socioeconomic status, it’s the norm to have beautiful nails—red and other vibrant shades are typically the most popular.

“I don’t know if it’s the same here, but we have crazy, funny names for nail polish colors. For example, recently there was a collection of seven different reds and the name for each one was a reference to one of the seven sins. Usually, one color becomes popular, and then everyone has to have that color,” she says.

Shopping Overseas Is Preferred

Though there are plenty of pharmacies with well-known brands like Vichy, La Roche-Posay, and the trademark Brazilian brand Natura, Andrea tells me that for the most part, Brazilian women love to stock up on all of their beauty products when traveling, and hoarding favorite formulas in the duty-free isn’t uncommon. Not only is there more selection abroad, product is also less expensive. In fact, as she takes me through her makeup and skincare routine (don’t worry, I’ll get there), she tells me that she discovered many of her must-haves in different countries all over the world. Her favorite deodorant? German. Her mascara? A UK find.

As with the selection of food, she explains with emphasis that when it comes to beauty, there is so much more variety in the U.S., and she especially appreciates the selection of organic and all-natural skincare—something that aside from a few homeopathic stores, is practically nonexistent in Brazil. Here, she loves trolling the aisles of Sephora and Whole Foods, and she also spends a good amount of time (like many beauty enthusiasts) reading and cross-checking reviews online. Her favorite: Amazon.

Though she’s slowly trying to convert her entire skincare routine to all-natural, sustainable, and organic products, she’s had a more difficult time parting ways with her favorite makeup brands, as she says, for the most part, she doesn’t think the natural versions perform and wear as well. The worst, she says, is when a product melts off your face. When I quiz her on brands and stores she swears by, she easily exhales: “Weleda, Lush, L’Oréal, and Sephora.”

Makeup Is Typically Natural

Think Gisele, Adriana, Alessandra, Isabeli, and the bronzed, sultry look of any model who has ever sported wings. According to Andrea, makeup is important to women in Brazil, but the result is never obvious. Plus, there is also a certain degree of comfort in going barefaced—blame it on their militant skincare regimens. Fun fact: She tells me that she’s seen both Alessandra Ambrosia and Isabeli Fontana on numerous occasions, and every time, they’ve had perfectly clean complexions with zero makeup and their long hair swept easily into a bun. “Totally relaxed,” she says.

Therefore, you probably won’t spot dramatically shaded lips or overly flushed cheekbones. Instead, bronzed, even complexions, darkly lined lids, ink-black lashes, and maybe a swipe of highlighter for a hint of radiance.

And unsurprisingly, my discoveries in Andrea’s makeup bag fit her description to a T. She tells me that she purchases most of her makeup at Sephora, except for her die-hard dedication to an oil-free L’Oréal BB Cream ($11) and the brand’s iconic Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara ($9). Though the tube she hands me has slightly different packaging, I suspect it’s virtually the same formula. Brows are another important step, and she relies on Benefit Gimme Brow Fiber Gel ($24) to add depth to her super-blonde arches.

Skincare Is Paramount

It’s no secret that Brazilian women and girls are known for their amazing skin, and my roommate is no exception. To give you an inkling, I began the interview thinking Andrea was the same age as me (24) or even younger. The truth? She’s 30. When she tells me, I absolutely refuse to believe her. Not that 30 is by any means old, but when someone six years your senior has better skin that you did circa 2011, well, it’s slightly disconcerting.

So considering her even, poreless, and naturally luminous texture, it doesn’t come as any surprise when I learn she’s had a religious skincare routine for years. In fact, the first time she ever went to a dermatologist, she was 12. Yes, 12. And according to Andrea, that’s not that weird.

“My mom always took care of her skin, so I did learn about skincare from her, but I’ve also been to dermatologists since I was around 12,” she shares. “As a kid, I had very sensitive skin, allergies, things like that. So about twice a year, I would go to see my dermatologist, and she would formulate all of these special products that were very gentle. I think they were actually meant for a baby’s skin, She’d also pick things up for me when she traveled to Europe—products for hair, face, body, vitamins, things like that.”

Now, her routine is fairly straightforward and she shows me an array of organic or mostly natural products geared toward anti-aging and enriched with essential vitamins like C, E, and other hydrating agents like hyaluronic acid. Currently, she loves the Origins Plantscription Cleanser ($33), Weleda Age-Defying Serum ($30 )—she also has one from Ogee ($98) and a few from TruSkin Naturals—and a couple of cult favorite lotions and moisturizers from Lush, including Imperialis ($27) for the face and Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner ($36) for the body, which, she says, is absolutely the best thing on earth.

Since she loves to spend time out in the sun (she says that tanned skin is another Brazilian beauty secret), she tries to be vigilant about applying sunscreen and uses something straightforward like Carmex or Blistex on her lips each day. And, while she doesn’t do much to her hair beyond drying with a blow-dryer, she does spritz her strands with leave-in conditioner. She tells me she always has a bottle in her bag when she heads to the beach.

Curious to try out her product lineup? From sunscreen to toothpaste to highlighter, her favorites are listed below.

Next up,14 Shampoos and Conditioners That Hydrate Dry Hair

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

Dry hair is no joke. When left untreated, it can potentially lead to damage and breakage. To prevent this, it’s important to repair and nourish dry hair from the start—before it could get worse. And what better way to begin than with your cleansing routine?

Look for a power-packed shampoo and conditioner that specifically target dryness. You’ll want ultra-moisturizing ingredients, like coconut oil and shea butter, as well as strengthening ingredients like biotin and panthenol. And make sure to follow up with a complementary conditioner for an extra boost of hydration.

Here, the best shampoos and conditioners for repairing dry, tired strands.

Best Overall: Maui Moisture Heal & Hydrate + Shea Butter Shampoo

Thirsty strands won’t know what hit ‘em with this replenishing shampoo. Infused with shea butter and aloe vera juice, it softens and conditions in just one wash. Apply from roots to ends, and be extra assertive when massaging your scalp to help dislodge any buildup or residue.

Pair it with the Maui Moisture Heal & Hydrate + Shea Butter Conditioner (view at Ulta) for the best results.

It’s Official: These Are the Best Leave-In Conditioners for Dry Hair

Best for Scalp Health: WOW Apple Cider Shampoo & Conditioner

The secret to healthy strands? A healthy scalp. Detoxify the root of your hair with this apple-cider-infused shampoo. It essentially clears the scalp of debris and buildup to promote better hair growth. And, with keratin proteins, it nourishes your hair to improve manageability and elasticity.

Pair it with the WOW Apple Cider Conditioner, which is included in this set.

Best for Damaged Hair: Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo

You may think of Olaplex as a brand synonymous with damage control—and you’d be right. This daily shampoo acts as a master repairer, fixing hair issues with a formula coveted by hairstylists and colorists. What users love the most is how healthy their hair feels after washing. Just remember that a little goes a long way with this potent formula.

Pair it with Olaplex No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner (view at Sephora) for the best results.

The 13 Best Shampoos for Damaged Hair of 2020

Best for Split Ends: Amika Velveteen Dream Smoothing Shampoo

No matter the weather, this smoothening shampoo formula prevents frizz and split ends. Get a load of vitamin-rich sea buckthorn berry, the hero ingredient that fortifies and repairs your hair. And as an added perk, omega-7 helps to promote the production of collagen for better-feeling hair.

Pair it with Amika Velveteen Dream Anti-Frizz Smoothing Conditioner (view at Sephora) for the best results.

Best for Frizz: Davines LOVE Shampoo

There’s nothing wrong with frizz, but some would prefer a smoother look and that’s fine too. With dryness often comes frizziness, so reach for this shampoo that tackles both. When lathered up, it gives hair a gentle cleanse and deposits natural active ingredients that help to bring back shine, elasticity, and smoothness. Reviewers found that with regular use their hair’s texture felt silkier and softer.

Pair it with Davines LOVE Conditioner (view at Davines) for the best results.

Best for Fine Hair: Kérastase Resistance Bain Volumifique Thickening Effect Shampoo

Fine, dry hair can be extra vulnerable. Treat it with a shampoo formula that thickens while it hydrates. Not only does it strengthen your strands, but it also encourages the hair fiber to expand for more volume.

Pair it with the Kérastase Resistance Conditioner for Damaged Hair (view at Sephora) for the best results.

Best for Thick Hair: Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Super Moisture Shampoo

Thick hair, while enviable, comes with its challenges. Because there’s more hair, that means there’s likely more dryness and damage, especially at the ends of the hair. Combat those concerns with this innovative co-wash formula—it intensely cleanses for a clean scalp and deeply conditions for glossy, smooth strands.

Pair it with Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Hair Mask (view at Sephora) for the best results.

Best for Curly Hair: Curls Dynasty Cocoa Mint Moisture Rich Shampoo

Just one look at the ingredient list and you’ll know this shampoo is the right one for you. From organic aloe juice to avocado oil to organic cocoa butter, you’re getting a plethora of hydration from a variety of ingredients. Reviewers love that while it was moisturizing, it was effective at removing excess scalp buildup.

Pair it with Curls Dynasty Give Me Slip Blast Hydration Conditioner (view at Target) for the best results.

The 14 Best Shampoos for Curly Hair That We Know You’ll Love

Best for Breakage: Leonor Greyl Crème Moelle de Bambou Nourishing Shampoo

Sometimes, you want your wash routine to feel less like a routine and more like an experience. And that’s where this ultra-creamy shampoo comes in. With a texture that feels like a conditioner, this formula breaks down and gets rid of debris, while ingredients, like collagen and silk protein, tame frizz and seal in hydration.

Pair it with the Leonor Greyl Crème de Soin à l’Amarante (view on Amazon) for the best results.

Best Splurge: Oribe Gold Lust Repair 7 Restore Shampoo

A combination of hair-loving ingredients—we’re talking notables like biotin and argan oil—is hiding within this vanity-worthy bottle. The formula does everything from hydrate your strands to smoothing out hair’s cuticle, so it’s an ideal pick to encourage overall hair health.

Pair it with Oribe Gold Lust Repair & Restore Conditioner (view at DermStore) for the best results.

Best Drugstore: OGX Nourishing Coconut Milk Shampoo

One of my favorite go-to haircare brands is OGX—it’s affordable and effective. And this shampoo is no different. It delivers proteins derived from egg whites into your hair to help strengthen brittle strands while it moisturizes with organic coconut milk and coconut oils.

Pair it with OGX Nourishing Coconut Milk Conditioner (view at Ulta) for the best results.

Lather Up: The Best Drugstore Shampoos and Conditioners for Your Hair Type

Best Budget: Garnier Whole Blends Replenishing Shampoo Legendary Olive

The key ingredient olive oil restores softness and flexibility back to your hair in this gentle formula. Free of silicone, which can weigh hair down, the virgin-pressed olive oil and olive leaf breathe new life into your hair by moisturizing it from within.

Pair it with Garnier Whole Blends Leave-In Conditioner Legendary Olive (view at Walmart) for the best results.

Best for Shine: Drunk Elephant Cocomino Glossing Shampoo

Byrdie Associate Editor Holly Rhue loves this color-safe shampoo and we can see why. It features ingredients like a coconut amino acid blend for bounce and flexibility and panthenol, a pro-vitamin b5, for strength and manageability. Reviewers report that their hair felt squeaky clean after cleansing, but not stripped.

Pair it with Drunk Elephant Cocomino Marula Cream Conditioner (view at Sephora) for the best results.

Best Sulfate-Free: Mielle Organics Babassu Oil Conditioning Sulfate-Free Shampoo

Free of sulfates and parabens, this conditioning shampoo doesn’t strip hair of its natural oils and moisture. Instead, it delivers even more hydration by way of babassu oil, a fruit-derived moisturizer that penetrates the hair follicle and restores it.

Next up,Is Medical-Grade Skincare Really More Potent? A Dermatologist Tells All

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

You’ve heard about the magic skin tone–evening powers of SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic and the celebrity outpour of love for brand iS Clinical, both of which are professional-strength and medical-grade. But if you went into a Sephora, Ulta, or Target to pick them up yourself, you’d come out empty-handed. They’re primarily sold at medi spas, dermatology offices, or authorized sites like Dermstore, and unfortunately for our bank accounts, they’re often quite pricey. But given the loyal following of medical-grade brands and their sworn results, it made us wonder if they’re really worth the steep price tag.

“Most of the medical-grade companies will use highly stabilized ingredients that last longer and take longer to degrade,” says Rachel Nazarian, MD, of Schweiger Dermatology Group. “Many of them also use more involved mechanisms of absorption to enhance delivery to deeper areas of skin. This is not true for all the medical-grade companies, but certainly for many of them.” Some mainstream brands may tout their retinol serum or night cream as an incredible skin-transforming product, but oftentimes there are trace amounts of actives surrounded by synthetic additives, a false claim medical-grade brands don’t stand behind.

We get that asking a dermatologist if she supports medical-grade skincare is like asking a pharmacist if they trust prescription pills, but Nazarian says the reason she uses these brands herself over non-medical skincare is because of the strong clinical evidence. “Many of my patients spend hundreds of dollars at Sephora, buying absolute junk,” says Nazarian. “I do think that you can find quality ingredients at skincare stores such as Sephora, but they are rare, and you need to know what to look for. Ultimately, I found that the prices of products in general skincare stores are just as expensive as what you can get at the dermatologist office; I recommend even if you want to buy something at Sephora you ask your dermatologist’s opinion beforehand to manage expectations on what the product can do. The reason I generally only use the exclusive medical companies is that they have invested in clinical research to guarantee that their products work, generally have more stabilized ingredients, and can prove that they offer results.”

Another reason to trust a dermatologist’s presumably biased take on professional-strength skincare? Their medical training allows them to ensure that each product is high-quality, capable of guaranteeing results, and is safe for use before offering them to their patient, Nazarian explains. “Whenever we suggest a product for patients, there’s an understanding that that product will reflect on us, and it needs to meet our high expectations.”

Ready to make the swap for medical-grade products? Take a look at some of our favorite products below.

Especially appropriate for colder months, this rich moisturizing cream softens skin and reverses signs of aging with snow algae, a tough organism that can survive harsh conditions and inhibits the enzymes that destroy collagen.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley calls this serum “brilliant,” and her facialist Shani Darden says it’s great for acne-prone skin, reduces fine lines, and lightens hyperpigmentation.

We’re calling this an HA serum version 2.0—perhaps even 3.0. Licorice root and purple rice are added here to boost skin’s hyaluronic acid levels even further for plumper, suppler skin than a regular HA serum can deliver.

While many moisturizing products leave the surface of your skin feeling dewy, this hyaluronic acid formula actually delivers far beneath the surface increasing the water level of the skin. Senior Byrdie editor Hallie Gould says, “After applying the lightweight, velvety elixir, my face felt softer than ever before, and my foundation went on so smoothly.”

Next up,This Is the Easiest Way to Save Money on Every Single Gift

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

Shopping for holiday gifts is a veritable roller coaster of emotions—each year it conjures feelings of love, nostalgia, cheer, and, naturally, crippling anxiety. While my heart bursts each time I brainstorm, find, and purchase the perfect present for a special person in my life, my bank account practically weeps. But what can I say? I have expensive taste (I’m a Taurus through and through). But with a new, more expensive apartment to pay for and an overloaded work schedule to tend to, I knew this year had to be different.

I needed a more efficient and cost-effective way to shop smarter during the holidays for everyone on my list (and yes, something for myself too).

Enter: Rakuten. If you haven’t heard of it, I’m about to make your week. Hell, you can call me Santa Claus because I’m about to make your entire holiday season. Rakuten is a free, member-based loyalty program that allows you to get cash back on every single one of your purchases (you can earn up to 40% cash back at over 3000 stores). Yes, really. All you have to do is sign up, then download the app, use the website or add the browser extension to activate the savings. It’s very literally free money in your pocket. Still not convinced? Below, I detail the retailers I used for each one of my loved ones this year and exactly how seamless the whole process was. Keep scrolling for all the evidence you’ll need.

Macy’s

Macy’s has really upped its game when it comes to the department store’s ever-expanding beauty department. While I’ve shopped fragrance there for years (I still have memories of choosing a scent at the store when I was in high school), they now carry just about every brand on your list. This time around, I used Rakuten’s browser extension to buy Tom Ford’s Santal Blush Eau de Parfum for myself—gift-giving doesn’t have to be entirely selfless—and Peter Thomas Roth’s Hydration Glow-Up Set for the man in my life.

He’s a skincare newbie and this three-piece set is perfect to set him up with a simple, foolproof routine he’ll actually stick to. Then, I sprung for NuFace’s Trinity Facial Trainer Kit because I love a deal, and have a friend who loves luxury to shop for. In all, I earned $43 in cash back on those three purchases, which is pretty amazing. New Macy’s deals are posted almost daily on their Rakuten retailer page, so hop to it.

Nike

Working out is not really my thing, but there are plenty of people on my list who love boutique fitness classes (the kind of humans who sign up for a 7 a.m. class and actually go—you know the ones). This time, I went directly to Rakuten’s website and picked up a few gifts from Nike, including the Classic Cortez Sneaker and Sherpa Fleece Crop Top. Both are worthy of the gym and will look cool post-class.

Sephora

Sephora needs no introduction, and the brand’s namesake collection is just as popular as the store itself. Sephora Collection offers really great skincare, makeup, and tools for far less money than it’s prestige counterparts. For the holiday, I hit up Rakuten’s Sephora cash back page to purchase a bottle of its gummy collaboration with Olly Nutrition, Sephora Collection x OLLY Radient Sleep. I rave about these supplements all the time (I take them before bed for more restful sleep and better skin)—so much so, my friends are chomping at the bit to try them. I’m planning this gift for one pal in particular, as getting eight hours of sleep is her top priority.

Walmart

Let me spell this out for you because I was just as shocked as you are—Walmart now sells pretty much every prestige product you could ever want. I’m talking La Mer’s The Moisturizing Cream (which I bought for my mom and promptly wrapped for holiday gifting) and T3’s Twirl Convertible Curling Iron (which is going straight to my friend who loves a “lived-in” wave). Both of which are products that have high price points, hence my affinity for Rakuten’s deals, and are easy to order straight through the brand’s marketplace.

Rakuten is a seamless, foolproof, way to earn back money for purchases you’d make anyway (up to 40% cash back at over 3000 stores, to be exact). So, take my advice and get into it this holiday season. You can go directly to Rakuten.com, download the app, or use the browser extension. I’ve done a mix of all three. Trust me, you’re going to love it.

Next up, Mandy’s Must-Haves: A Non-Sticky Drugstore Lip Gloss, Body BB Cream, And More

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

In case you missed the news, we’ve tapped actress and singer Mandy Moore to be our newest editor! A beauty junkie after our own heart, Moore is testing dozens of new makeup products every month and sharing the ones that get her stamp of approval.

Click through our slideshow to see which products she loved for May!

Keeping it simple seems to be the beauty mantra this month as the heat index rises, and that wasn’t lost on me as I rifled through this month’s goodie basket. With summer on the brain, it seems like the perfect time to be armed with an arsenal of products to keep you glowing, moisturized and fresh-faced. Enjoy!

-Mandy

L’oréal Colour Riche Extraordinaire Lip Color ($10)

My most visceral memories of lip gloss always seemed to include my hair getting stuck to my mouth and then dragging sticky color across my face. Suffice to say, after gravitating towards a matte lip for a while now, I was surprised to hear that lip gloss is in fact back in a big way. Thanks to L’oreal’s new Colour Riche Extradinoire Lip Color ($10), it feels like an easy transition and a safe way to dip your toe back into that pond. The smooth, moisturizing formula, coupled with the rich, vivid pigments, remind me other “fancier brand” products I’ve tried and liked less.I really loved Coral Encore and Pink Tremolo for a pop of color.

Jergens Body BB Cream ($13)

Designed to enhance, hydrate, brighten and firm your epidermis in the same way that our beloved BB does for the face, Jergens BB Body Cream ($13) wasn’t a tough sell in my book. It promises to even out your skin’s tone in five days but I mean, let’s be real, it’s not body makeup. The cream was rich enough to hydrate my chronically dry skin, with a faint but pleasant scent. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but I will say that I’ve noticed a bit of a difference in the look and feel of my skin over the past few weeks.

Suave Professional Gradual Self-Tanner ($8)

Even though I grew up basking in the glow of the sun, as a quintessential Florida beach baby, I’ve found myself embracing the paler side of life over the past few years. The concept of self-tanner has always frightened me. I don’t trust myself to apply it correctly, and I fully expect it to turn me into an Oompa Loompa. Enter Suave’s Professional Gradual Self-Tanner ($8), which wasdeveloped to build an impressively natural looking tan over time. So far, I’ve found it to be fairly foolproof, and when combined with the Jergens BB Body cream, it packs a pretty potent one-two punch.

Sephora Instant Nail and Cuticle Care ($10)

Sephora’s Instant Nail and Cuticle Care ($10) seemed like the logical step to aid my post-gel, weak, peeling nails. The secret ingredient is the ultra-hydrating camellia oil and fused with the delivery system (a simple foam-lined jar) makes it a perfect combo.

Redken Pillow Proof Blow Dry Primer ($22)

I am NOT adept at doing my hair whatsoever. Most days, it’s all about dry shampoo and if I’m feel really crazy, I’ll try adding a bit of bend with a curling iron. That said, the step I’m usually missing involves some sort of heat protectant, so I was curious to try Redken’s Pillow Proof Blow Dry Primer ($22). I’m NO expert but it (luckily) didn’t add any weight to my fine strands, and seemed to aid in locking in shine. I’ll definitely be adding this to my routine.

Marc Jacobs Shameless Bold Blush ($30)

Although I’m not partial to shimmer, it’s difficult not to be swayed by a little shine and sparkle during the summer months. Once I tabled my hesitation, I ended up loving Marc Jacobs’ Shameless Bold Blush ($30). (Being a total sucker for packaging didn’t hurt either). It felt like a slightly less flashy version of Nars’ famed Orgasm blush. A little goes a long way, and that’s just fine in my book.

Next up, Question: Do You Still Trust Product Reviews?

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

Just as you trust certain sites, channels, and social media accounts to keep you up to date with what’s happening in the world, you likely have certain sources to help you discern between “must-have” and “meh” when it comes to beauty products. But what happens when these sites become bogged down with reviews that aren’t necessarily trustworthy? With companies like Influenster and Octoly facilitating product reviews everywhere from Amazon to Sephora, the water can become a little murky, and though reviewers and influencers who use these systems are required to disclose their relationship with these organizations, checking reviews (which was initially supposed to streamline shopping and make our lives easier), can quickly become time-consuming and stressful.

According to Bill Tancer, author of Everyone’s a Critic: Winning Customers in a Review-Driven World, roughly 89% to 90% of consumers use reviews to inform their shopping decisions. “It is the most influential thing in terms of making a purchase decision,” he told Racked. And what’s more, Tancer stipulates reviews have become even more influential than the expertise of sales associates or recommendations from friends and family. So what’s the key to smart sifting? Tread carefully. Here are three helpful things to know when scrolling through product reviews.

1. Some Companies Work With Brands to Give Products to Reviewers
However, it’s important to know that though these companies (like Influenster) may be facilitating the relationships with certain beauty brands or channels, they can’t dictate what the reviewer will actually say in their review. Plus, the reviewer is required to disclose any type of relationship so that a reader will automatically realize the review isn’t 100% authentic—in the truest sense of the word, at least. So technically, the feedback should be their own and, for the most part, trustworthy.

According to Racked, “Reviewers are taught to use the hashtags #gifted, #honestreview, and #octolyfamily in an effort to meet FTC guidelines, though recent crackdowns on celebrities highlight that the wording should be really obvious.”

And despite popular thought, these types of reviewers are allowed to leave negative feedback if they wish to do so (spoiler: they usually don’t). According to Octoly’s founder, Philippe Garnier, a company can choose to stop sending product to someone who leaves a negative review on another channel. The workaround? Most reviewers simply won’t provide feedback on something they don’t like.

A Takeaway: Familiarize yourself with disclaimers (hashtags are dead giveaways), and if you’re shopping on Amazon, try using Fakespot. It’s a free online tool that can tell you how trustworthy a particular review is.

2. Incentivized Reviews Are Monitored by Retail Channels
Retailers like Sephora and Amazon are aware of reviewers who receive product and incentive to write potentially biased feedback: “As part of our terms and conditions for leaving a review, our users must disclose if they have been sent promotional samples or select our ‘received as free sample’ button,” a Sephora representative told Racked via email. “Samples are a part of the beauty industry and are one of many ways that brands market to potential clients. Our goal with the Sephora Ratings and Reviews is that regardless of how you discovered a product, your share of your experience is authentic, unpaid, and unbiased.”

In short, we’d hope that reviewers will, indeed, provide an honest representation of their experience trying a product, but as with anything we read on the internet (beauty related or not), it’s important to take everything with a grain of salt.

A Takeaway: Be wary when you don’t see any negative feedback. In this case, it’s likely that the majority of reviewers have an incentive (thus post positively so they continue to receive product), or any negative reviews are being removed by the brand or retailer.

3. It’s Hard to Be Objective
It’s also worth pointing out that it’s incredibly difficult to be unbiased and objective when it comes to beauty products. What one reviewer might honestly love, another reviewer might honestly detest. We’re all different, and we have different needs and preferences when it comes to our skin and beauty aesthetic. Thus, even without incentivized reviews, we still need to be smart consumers and shop for our individuality and not for the sake of our favorite influencer.

A Takeaway: Although reviews can provide helpful insight, talking to trained, knowledgeable experts in-store (and cross-checking product reviews over multiple platforms and retail channels) is a great way to make a more informed decision where your shopping cart is concerned.

Next up, 15 Beauty Products That Defined 2018

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

If we learned anything about beauty trends in 2018, it’s that what products and looks are christened as cool evolve faster than ever before. Gone are the days when every American woman would hop on one collective beauty bandwagon, buying the same lip pencil or face cream as everyone else for a year straight. Thanks to social media, the diversification of brands and the hyper-crowded beauty marketplace, consumers’ tastes are more varied and move quicker than at any other point in beauty history.

All that said, there are still a few products that cohesively defined America’s overall beauty vibe in 2018. This year, we saw several distinct patterns, including the launch of CBD-infused beauty, natural formulas with minimal packaging, expanded cosmetic shade ranges, and a lot of understated glitter makeup (as understated as glitter can be).

The following 15 beauty products were the ones that we think best encapsulated 2018 as a beauty moment in time. Keep scrolling to see the eye shadows, face masks, mascaras, and more that made the list.

This was the year of CBD beauty, and chic skincare and wellness brand Lord Jones dominated the market. The brand launched its hypnotic-smelling body lotion this year, which contains a high concentration of CBD—perfect for easing post-workout soreness, period cramps, and any other icky pain-related maladies. (It’s available on Sephora.com where it has almost a perfect five-star rating.) The brand’s ultra-calming CBD gummies were also a defining product of 2018—especially on stressful days at Byrdie HQ.

It would be inaccurate and just plain irresponsible to talk about the beauty products that represented 2018 without mentioning Fenty, which I’d go so far as to say was the one cosmetics brand that defined the year above all others. At the end of 2017, Rihanna released her now award-winning 40-shade foundation collection, which sent ripples throughout the entire makeup industry, and in the year since, brands from Covergirl to Dior have followed suit, expanding their foundation shade ranges. Fenty has been a groundbreaker in the makeup world this year.
Its Gloss Bomb and Diamond Bomb both easily deserve a spot on this list as well.

Certainly one of the buzziest releases of the year was celebrity facialist Shani Darden’s resurfacing serum, which she calls the gentle sister to the Retinol Reform. A bright, radiant, even complexion achieved without beating the crap out of your skin was definitely the overall skincare vibe in 2018, and Shani’s new product (which celebs like Drew Barrymore already swear by) is basically that philosophy in a bottle. (Click here for a full review of it.)

High-tech skincare was something we also saw a ton of in 2018, not least of which is this ultra-rich, regenerative moisturizer. The new and proprietary formula was developed by scientists to feature natural amino acids, high-grade vitamins, and synthesized molecules, which help the body enhance its own stem cell production. The pricey, royally packaged product is Violet Grey’s skincare best seller.

More CBD! Milk Makeup shook the cosmetics industry this year by releasing an entirely new CBD oil–infused makeup line, starting with its ridiculously volumizing Kush Mascara, then brow gel, then a lip balm and mask (available December 26). We can definitely expect to see more CBD-infused makeup in 2019, but it all started this year with Milk.

This new holistic, ultra-chic bodycare line features a simply packaged and sustainably produced body lotion, wash, and lube. We saw the launch of several nontoxic, ethically made, female-empowering body and sexual health products this year from awesome brands like Lola and Sustain Natural, but our wellness editor Victoria says Nécessaire is the one that “perfectly encapsulates minimalist skincare.” So 2018.

Korean-inspired skincare went absolutely nowhere in 2018. In fact, interest in the country’s innovative textures and formulas only continued to skyrocket as proven by the much-hyped launch of Glow Recipe’s highly Instagramable avocado sleeping mask (the richer counterpart to its best-selling watermelon mask). It’s like the avocado toast of skincare in that you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who isn’t always in the mood for this super-hydrating, gently decongesting overnight mask, which quickly earned almost a perfect five-star rating on Sephora.com.

Strobing and lightening hair sprays (like highlighters for your hair) were a big trend this year, and one of the buzziest launches of the bunch was this summer product from Ouai. The lemon-coconut water spray is heat-activated, so upon exposure to the sun, it gives the hair subtle highlights. IGK’s glitter hair spray and Summertime Hair Lightening Spray were a couple other fun 2018 launches in this category.

Higher-end, non-granola natural deodorants became a major thing this year, and Kopari’s much-anticipated, Allure Best of Beauty Award–winning, and Sephora best-selling coconut deodorant was perhaps the year’s best-loved pick.

L.A. bloggers Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores Ireland released their much-hyped Summer Fridays Jet Lag mask this year, which, if you spent any time on Instagram this summer, you couldn’t miss. According to an in-depth review by Byrdie’s UK editor, “The balm-like cream that smells very subtly minty contains antioxidant-rich vitamin C to brighten, niacinamide to reduce the appearance of pores and fine lines, chestnut extract to gently exfoliate, and green tea to reduce puffiness and inflammation. What’s genius about this mask is that it’s a no-nonsense product made for and by busy people. You slather it onto cleansed skin, leave for 10 minutes, and then tissue off the excess. Skin feels moisturized and plump while looking brighter and calmer.”

We thought there were no new advancements to be made in the self-tanner world until Isle of Paradise’s totally natural, organic, non-gross-smelling, beautifully packaged, and easy-to-use line of products came out in 2018. These lightweight 100% clear drops, which you can apply to your body or face lotion, changed the self-tanning game this year—and not only because the brand used regular people with actual human bodies in its ad campaigns. Isle of Paradise is also the only self-tanner to earn Sephora’s new Clean Beauty seal.

Pretty much every year in beauty since legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath launched her iconic line has been a Pat McGrath year, and 2018 was no exception. She launched so many lust-worthy items this year, from eye shadow palettes to lip balms, but we have to single out her newest launch, a ridiculously mesmerizing BlitzTrance lipstick which deposits a full-coverage coating of crystallized color onto the lips, making them look shimmery, enchanting, and very holiday-appropriate.

More glitter: Glossier’s hotly anticipated Lidstar was at the forefront of the “eye topper” makeup trend. Shimmery, glossy liquid eye products are only going to continue to take the makeup market by storm.

Another empowering brand that got real with its ads this year was razor delivery service Billie, which featured actual human female body hair (gasp) in its Project Body Hair campaign, along with the slogan, “If and when you feel like shaving, we’re here.” This chill attitude toward real bodies was very representative of 2018.

Another brand that really symbolized a shift in the diversity and wearability of makeup this year was makeup artist Linda Wells’s new line, Flesh, in which the products were formulated to flatter truly every skin tone. The shade ranges and formulas stole Team Byrdie’s hearts this year, especially these insanely glow-inducing highlighter drops. (Read a full review of the line here.)

Next up, The 6 Best Makeup Brushes for Contouring

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

Achieving Kim Kardashian-level contouring is no easy feat. First, you have to master the technique. Then, you need to find the right products that work for your skin tone. And finally, you have to have the tools necessary for applying those products like a pro. There are flat brushes, flat angled brushes, flat brushes that come to a point in the middle, rounded brushes….well, let’s just say there are a lot of brushes, which means things get confusing fast.

We found the best contour brushes to take your contour game to the next level.

Best Budget: e.l.f. Studio Ultimate Kabuki Brush

When it comes to brushes on a budget, you can’t beat e.l.f. Cosmetics. The densely-packed, soft bristles are great for evenly applying powder to ​the skin, making it perfect for getting a sharp contour and blending that sculpted line. Use the flat edge for sweeping contours and the curved corners for an exact application. An added bonus: In addition to contouring, this brush can also be used for blending, highlighting, and stippling. Plus, animal lovers can rejoice, since the soft bristles are vegan-friendly.

Best Splurge: Charlotte Tilbury Powder & Sculpt Brush

We’ve yet to go wrong when buying anything from the namesake line of the beloved British makeup artist to the stars, and this brush is no exception. The versatile brush can be used for blush and contouring since it’s made to be utilized for any sculpting effect. The tapered end helps you work the hollows of your cheeks and temples, plus sweep highlighter across your cheekbones, nose, and even the cupid’s bow of your lips for a pucker that pops. Handmade by master brush makers in Europe, it’ll also be the star of your vanity with its rose gold and deep red design. But it doesn’t just look pretty — the ergonomic wood handle makes the application a cinch.

Best Angled Brush: Sephora Collection PRO Angled Contour Brush #75

If you’re wondering why we’re celebrating this brush’s angled bristles, it’s because they can pick up more product than a traditional brush, making it easier to carve out your contour in the most accurate way. Use the pointed side to access hard to reach spots, including around the eyes and nose. It brings on high definition with all makeup formulas, including blush, bronzer, foundation, and concealer.

Best for Powder Contour: Tarte Bronze & Glow Contour Brush

A dual-ended contouring brush means it has twice the power! Made just for brushing on bronzer, blush, and highlighter, the big, fluffy brush on one side is meant for buffing and blending cheek powders, while the other is for precise sculpting with the smaller, exacting brush. Use its more petite size to your advantage to really work those cheekbones for a slimming look.

Best for Cream Contour: Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Brush

Synthetic bristles tend to grab onto formulas better, and no one does synthetics better than avowed animal lover Kat Von D. This two-in-one eyeshadow brush has a tapered end for defining and a domed end meant for blending, meaning that it will help you achieve the best smokey eye you can imagine. Though it’s meant for the eye area, it can be used anywhere you want to get a sharply defined look. The vegan bristles are incredibly soft and have gradient tips for extra blending power. Another reason to spring for this brush? It comes with a cool hard coffin case to store it in.

Best Drugstore: EcoTools The Wonder Color Finish Brush

Ecotools is a fitting name for a PETA-certified brand whose products are completely vegan, made from recycled aluminum, have packaging made from post-consumer recycled plastic and is 100% recyclable, and their makeup brushes feature handles made of renewable bamboo. Even better, this brush is just as good for your face as it is for the planet. Made with 60,000 bristles to deliver a full, smooth application, the brush can be used wet or dry. Its oval bristle head is designed for precise placement of blush and contouring makeup. To get a sheer look, dampen the bristles first.

Next up, Ongoing: How Your Favorite Beauty Stores Are Responding to Coronavirus

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

Coachella and Stagecoach are postponed. The NBA has suspended all games for the duration of the season. International sports events are cancelled or postponed. International travel is limited. And while beauty and self-care is the sugar coating on the medicine, it’s important to stay vigilant when maintaining a personal care routine or shopping for new products.

The novel Coronavirus still seems to be an enigma in many ways, which makes it all the more worrisome. Staying informed on facts from the CDC, and taking advice from medical professionals is crucial, as is preventing the spread of disinformation. In response to the pandemic, beauty stores and service industries are taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of clients during this troubling time for health and the global economy. Dr. Nicole Swiner, a general practitioner and family doctor (and Byrdie Review Board member), expressed concern over open-air make-up testers and products.

“Given the current state, I would be very cautious about using and re-using any substance or product that is left open.” Dr. Swiner also noted that a virus doesn’t need a live host to survive. “Viruses can live in the air, walls and environment for up to 24 hours after exposure, in some instances, so be very careful.”

Given the current state, I would be very cautious about using and re-using any substance or product that is left open.

Vigilance is not paranoia. Take extra precautions during your day-to-day activities. Invest in an air purifier if you can. Carry anti-bacterial wipes for your hands and car. Be aware when shopping for face and body products, and do not use anything that has been left open to the public.

Here’s what your favorite stores and salons are saying about the safety measures they’re taking to ensure the care of clients and patrons so far.

Updated 3/20:

Sephora

Sephora told us that as of today, they continue to enforce strict hygiene standards all-around, although extra precautions are being taken for the cleanliness of the store. “Employees in all Sephora stores have been instructed to regularly wipe down high-touch areas such as door knobs, counters, registers, refrigerators, sinks, handrails, and restroom stall doors, etc.,” a rep for Sephora told us. “We regularly clean and sanitize our products, testers and surfaces to keep our entire community safe and healthy and continue to follow the guidance of health authorities and government officials.”

Stores will remain open, but fees on standard shipping will not apply to online orders for consumers to who wish to stay and shop from home. “As the situation remains fluid, we will continue to assess needs to maintain our client experience in our stores and via our site,” the rep said. “In an effort to promote the most inclusive beauty experience and accommodate clients who may wish to shop from home, Sephora will waive all standard shipping fees during the month of March.” The brand also reported that in North America, it will temporarily suspended all paid in-store services, make-up applications and classes until further notice.

Update 3/18: Yesterday, Sephora announced that it would temporarily close all of its retail stores in the U.S. and Canada effective March 17th through April 3rd. They are keeping up free standard shipping on all online orders until stores reopen, and they will continue paying in-store employees for their scheduled shifts.

Ulta Beauty

Ulta stores released this message from their CEO, Mary Dillon. In addition to added sanitation and cleaning of stores, Ulta advised customers interested in sampling or testing products to ask a sales associate. The brand is also encouraging GLAMlab, its virtual makeup try-on beauty tool.

As of today, Ulta stores is maintaining their hair, skin, brow and makeup in-store services, but said they may be temporarily unavailable in unnamed areas.

Update 3/18: Ulta announced that all stores will be closed starting 6 p.m. March 19th until at least March 31st. The notice also said that stores will continue their online purchase pick-up from stores as allowed by city and state quarantine regulations.

European Wax Center

European Wax Center sent out an email to all customers yesterday detailing their cleanliness and sanitation measures. As a company, they have always maintained strict hygiene around services. In each salon, beds are wiped down with anti-bacterial wipes and new bed paper is pulled for each guest. Importantly, waxing sticks are never double-dipped, and all stainless-steel tool are soaked in barbicide for disinfection.

Update 3/18: Today, EWC announced via their Twitter that 200+ of their franchised centers have made the difficult decision to temporarily close, with no official reopening date listed. Many of the brand’s franchise-owned locations are owned and operated by small businesses, and any open center has been advised to take local laws and health code violations into consideration.

MAC

U.K. newspapers have reported that MAC Cosmetics in Britain have instituted a strict “No-Touch” policy across all stores and counters in an effort to keep customers safe. Last week, MAC canceled a meet-and-greet with Euphoria actress Alexa Demie at Macy’s in Herald Square to ensure the health and well-being of all.

Update 3/18: All free-standing stores are temporarily closed.

Equinox

The luxury gym chain sent out emails to members documenting added safety measures they’re taking to ensure cleanliness in the environment. Hospital-grade disinfecting solution is being used at each club three times a day, and they are eliminating skin-to-skin contact instruction during personal training sessions and yoga classes.

Update 3/18: All locations have been temporarily closed, due to official orders on local and state governments regarding fitness centers and gym closures.

Olive & June

Sarah Gibson Tuttle, founder of the beloved nail brand and Beverly Hills salon, issued a statement to Byrdie, saying, “The health of our manicurists and clients are always our top priority. Our salons adhere to the strictest hygiene guidelines. We go beyond what the California state board mandates and use an Autoclave machine, which is a medical grade sterilizer, on all of our tools. In addition, our buffers and files are all single use for hygienic reasons and all of our manicurists use a fresh set of gloves for each service and wash their hands with antibacterial soap frequently including in between clients. These are procedures we use on a daily basis.” She goes on to say that given the current public health concern, manicurists are also wiping down all stations with antibacterial wipes in between clients and have mandated that manicurists do not come into the salon if they’re feeling sick.”

Glossier

Glossier founder Emily Weiss released a statement to the public today: “We’ve made the difficult decision to close all our current permanent and temporary retail locations (New York, Los Angeles, London, and Atlanta) for at least the next two weeks to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We will also delay the opening of Glossier Arizona, which was scheduled for next Wednesday. This is obviously a fluid situation, so we’ll be monitoring and adjusting our plans and timeline accordingly.” She encouraged consumers to follow Glossier on social and tap into Glossier’s online editors, the gTEAM. She ended by concluding, “To everyone reading: We’re not alarmists, we’re realists. While this may not be the right decision for every company, it’s the one where we feel we can make an impact.”

Drybar

The blow-dry franchise released a statement via email on Friday to share the safety measures and precautions as they remain open. The email went on to say that employees must wash hands between clients and reminded customers that tools are disinfected with barbicide between each treatment. All open food (like the cookies they usually have at the counter) have been removed from every location, and they are stepping up deep-clean practices in each location. Throughout the day, CDC-approved sanitation wipes are being used to wipe down counters, washbowls, and all public surfaces. Drybar has also set up hand sanitation stations with CDC-approved disinfectant for patrons and employees.

Dr. Barbara Sturm

Last year, Dr. Sturm opened a brick-and-mortar store and spa at Zero Bond offering product sales and facial treatments. On Friday, Dr. Sturm sent out an email saying facials and treatments are suspended, but all boutiques are open to selling products with extra safety measures in place.

Dr. Sturm’s team advised that medical-strength antibacterial wipes are being used throughout the day to disinfect all surfaces, products, and equipment. The email also kindly requested all clients to refrain from visiting the store if exuding flu-like symptoms or general malaise to ensure safety and containment.

Fresh

As of Friday, all in-store services have been suspended, and employees will no longer apply products to guests. Cleaning and disinfecting practices of each store have been expanded, and deep cleaning will be performed once per week for as long as necessary. All testers have been removed from display in stores, and each store’s hours will be affected.

Update 3/18: Yesterday, Fresh announced that they have temporarily closed all stores and will reopen on April 3rd.

Heyday

On Friday, Heyday released a statement via email and on their Instagram feed. All 11 locations are temporarily closed, effective 3/13/20, due to the evolving situation and to ensure the safety of their clients, staff, and community.

Heyday also announced they are allocating 10% of all online profits to help support paying and maintaining wages of in-shop teams during the temporary closure.

Rescue Spa

Rescue Spa announced via email that both locations will suspend services effective March 17th until March 27th.

As of March 18th, all 258 Lush retail stores in the U.S. and Canada are closed through March 29th.

Kate Somerville

The luxury Melrose Place beauty staple announced that, to protect the health and safety of clients and staff, they have decided to close the clinic from Friday March 13th until Friday, March 27th.

Next up, Here Are 8 Money-Saving Hacks for Shopping Makeup Online

This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated

From byrdie

For beauty buffs, scoring a good deal on makeup is like winning the lottery. Saving just a few dollars on that highlighter palette you’ve been eyeing can feel like a victory. According to shopping and trends expert Sara Skirboll (along with research done by the leading hub of coupon collections website, RetailMeNot), people are still buying—even from home.

“Beauty shopping is becoming a more frequent purchase, with over 60 percent of women saying they buy beauty products at least once a month and around 30 percent claiming to purchase more than once a month,” says Skirboll. Perhaps this is in part due to the power of makeup on mental health, confidence, and overall well-being. Or it could be self-care feels more important than ever. No matter the reason, one thing’s for sure: Online makeup shopping is on the rise and there’s no end in sight. So, we decided it’s time to make our shopping sessions more efficient (and easier on our wallets).

Below, we’ve rounded up eight of the best online shopping hacks to get you in the saving mindset the next time you browse the “What’s New” section of your favorite e-tailer. Keep scrolling for more.

1.Use a Cash-Back Website

According to research, our spending habits indicate that we spend over $200,000 on beauty products a year. “People are, on average, spending roughly $42 each time they shop,” says Skirboll. “Those that fall in the Generation Z category (those ages 18 to 24) spend more than any other demographic with an average spend of $70 per beauty haul.” All these stats make using a cash-back site a no-brainer. You actually get a percentage of your money back after online shopping.

Take Rakuten for example. It’s a site that offers cash back on most online purchases relating to hotels, electronics, and even clothing and makeup. While you likely won’t see anything higher than two or three percent cash back on off-peak months, sites like Sephora and Ulta often give up to 10 percent cash back during high seasons (think the days leading up to Christmas, Memorial Day, and Labor Day). Every three months you’ll get what’s called a Big Fat Check (aka all of your money that would have been left on the table) to deposit right back into your bank account. Best part? There’s literally no catch—trust us, we’ve vetted it.

2.Sign Up for Loyalty Programs

“Signing up for loyalty programs are a big must when it comes to shopping online for beauty,” says Skirboll. “You’ll unlock different benefits (like free samples or free shipping) once you hit each tier—it’s a win-win either way.” Sephora’s Beauty Insider Program lets you earn points on every purchase, with dollar to point ratios rising according to your status. Once you earn a certain number of points, you can redeem them for deluxe-size samples. And, the higher your status, the better the perks (better rewards, free shipping, early access to products, and more).

Ulta’s Ultimate Rewards Program is similar to Sephora’s Beauty Insider Program in that each purchase will land you points, but you can also cash in points for dollars off a purchase (for instance, 750 points will get you $30 off). The program also earns you two times the amount of points during your birthday month and a $25 gift card you can use toward a beauty service.

To save on drugstore beauty products, consider joining CVS’s ExtraCare Beauty Club Program, which comes with free samples, access to deals and new arrivals, and, most impressively, three dollars in ExtraBuck Rewards for every $30 spent.

3.Try Travel-Size Products

Curious about a certain product but unsure if it’ll bode well with your skin type? Skirboll says to opt for travel-size products before committing to a new brand. “That way you won’t have to worry about spending more money on a product you’re not quite sure about buying,” she says. And while many retailers offer a fair return policy when it comes to gently used product, purchasing a travel-size version of a product before committing to a full size minimizes waste. To take it one step further, you can always ask for samples of product at places like Sephora and Ulta to test at home before purchasing anything at all.

4.Set Up Sale Alerts

Imagine this: You’ve added half a dozen products to your online shopping cart, but when it comes to actually placing the order, you get cold feet with a quick glance at your subtotal. Enter Shoptagr, an app that notifies you when the product you’ve been lusting after goes on sale (or comes back in stock). Within the app you can create lists to keep track of categories you’re most interested in, which can come in handy as your wish list grows. (PSA: Shoptagr is great for things like shoes and clothing—if you find something you’re in love with but it’s out of stock, you can choose your size and color choice, add it to your Shoptagr account, and you’ll be notified the second it comes back in stock.)

5.Save Shopping for High-Sale Events

Looking to stock up on concealer or mascara? Save your shopping for high-sale events like Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty or Sephora’s VIB sale, two of the most anticipated beauty sales of the year. The former offers serious markdowns on a variety of products everyday for three weeks (the full calendar of discounted products is usually released a few days before the event). The Sephora VIB sale, on the other hand, involves a 10 to 20 percent discount (depending on your VIB status) on your entire purchase, landing you more products and brands to choose from among your sea of options. Plus, there’s no limit to how many times you can use the coupon for the duration of the sale. The event usually happens twice a year—during the springtime and holiday season, so mark your calendars accordingly.

6.Clear Cookies to Avoid Markups

By now we know that clearing your browser’s cookies to avoid airline markups is a travel hack to hold in your back pocket—and the same hack rings true when shopping for makeup online. Deleting cookies not only prevents companies from tracking you and marking up items you’ve shown a history of clicking on, but it can also eliminate the low stock marketing ploy that creates a need for urgency—you know, that “only one left in stock” liner that suddenly makes you want the item more.

7.Take Advantage of Recycling Programs

When it comes to beauty purchases, sustainability is proving its significance. “Consumers are becoming more conscious of what they’re buying, as 81 percent of women shared it is important that their beauty products are both clean and sustainable,” says Skirboll. This goes hand-in-hand with taking advantage of the recycling programs many brands offer. For example, MAC’s Back-to-MAC program allows you to trade in six empty products in exchange for a free lipstick. Similarly, Kiehl’s offers a “recycle and be rewarded” program where each empty container brought in to their store earns you a stamp, and 10 stamps gets you a free travel-size product.

8.Keep an Eye Out for Flash Sales

Flash sales are increasingly popular, especially within the makeup market. And it’s no wonder—HauteLook, a members-only website that offers 50 to 75 percent off retail prices, is constantly featuring industry-favorite brands like Laura Mercier, NARS, Nyx Cosmetics, Too Faced, and more. The only caveat? It’s a flash sale, so events come and go daily, and some items go out of stock quicker than they made their appearance.

Next up, The Game-Changing Primer My Makeup Can’t Do Without

From byrdie

There was a rumor circulating a couple of years ago that Sephora was making its way to London. As expected, mild hysteria ensued, as empty storefronts were staked out and Google alerts for “Sephora in London” were actioned. Did it happen? No, but it was a joyous and exciting time. I’m a big fan of Sephora, but not just for its array of dreamy products. (We have Cult Beauty and Space NK for that.) What I love about Sephora is that it’s where I met my true love.

You might be thinking that it was someone in Sephora who took my breath away between the perfume and concealer aisles. But actually, it wasn’t. This extraordinary love came courtesy of a free sample that was a reward for spending an indecent amount of money there. Well, friends, it’s lucky that I felt the need to throw some dollars around town, as I received the travel size of what is now my favorite primer. I had to wait 12 hours until I reapplied my makeup to try it, but it was it worth it.

Curious to know what it is? Keep scrolling to find out!

This was in 2012, by the way. I can’t remember any of the books, TV shows or outfits I bought that year, but I can remember the precious first application of the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer ($54) like it was yesterday. I’m on a one-woman mission to share the absolute joy that this primer incites, so be prepared for your makeup game to be changed for good.

The first time I applied it on my face, I blended my foundation on top of it and realized that it was gliding with as much ease as an Olympic ice skater. The results got even better, as once I finished my full face and set it, I looked different. The kind of different that you only get when a pro applies your makeup or when you’ve got an entire lighting system for taking selfies. I was hooked.

I remember reaching for my blotting papers and setting powder midday to dab off my usual shine, but guess what? There wasn’t any. You know that GIF of the man blinking in confusion? That was me. I bought the full-sized bottle immediately and jumped straight into $54 worth of priming perfection. Yes, I know that seems a lot for a product that goes above skincare and beneath makeup. But trust me—it’s worth it for making every product you use look infinitely better.

Six years later, we’re still going strong. Every bottle gets scraped until every drop of the formula is used up. I refuse to wear makeup without it because once you see how transformative it is, nothing else will do. That’s a tell-tale sign of a good product. Also, when you stop using it or try something else, you can notice the difference. You’ve probably already noticed, but I really don’t shut up about this primer. I recommend it to everyone. Especially those who say that they just don’t get primers or that they’re neither skincare or makeup.I get it. I don’t really get primers either. I just get this one.

While Hourglass could totally be a one-product brand, it’s not. Here are some other favorites I always pick up when primer shopping.

If you’re a full-coverage fiend, you need this in your life. It’s seriously pigmented but doesn’t look like you’ve applied a ton of product to your face, as the finish is flawless. I use a lighter shade for my under-eye concealer and a darker shade for contouring. This formula is unbeatable.

I’m pretty sure you can only re-create the golden hour (that magical time after sunrise and before sunset that elevates all of your photos to insane levels) with this powder. It gives a soft lit-from-within glow without looking metallic.

When I was deciding between the intense shades, I saw the girl power–inspired names, including Innovator, Activist, and Leader. This made the decision even harder. These lip pencils are a must-have if you’re looking for both pigment and comfort, as they’re bold and contain a blend of shea butter and lip-softening oils.

There are few things that tempt me away from my Beautyblender, but this vegan brush certainly did. It buffs foundation into such a natural finish, even with full-coverage formulations. Plus, the handy size means it also fits into every makeup bag too.

I have a weakness for rose-gold and champagne glitter eye shadows. The evidence of this can be seen in all the palettes I’ve hit pan in those shades. So you can imagine my excitement when I got my hands on these light-reflecting gems. They’re not quite a cream and not quite a powder, so you can easily build the intensity depending on the look you’re going for.

This coats the lashes with a clump-free formula that adds both volume and definition. It also wins an award for being extremely pretty to look at.

Next up, 10 Hard-Working Concealers That Erase, Well, Everything

From byrdie

As much as we dream about living in a perfect world where our complexions are naturally flawless, the reality is, we don’t. Between long days at the office during the week and celebrating the weekend with a late night out (or two), our skin has to put up with a lot due to our busy lifestyles. Thankfully, concealer often comes to our rescue when we’re facing exhaustion.

Few things are more comforting than finding a holy-grail product that can effortlessly hide our tell-tale dark circles, cover up an annoyingly resilient blemish, and, in a pinch, even act as a highlighter. Once we find our perfect match, we’ll swear by it until the end of time—after all, faking a good night’s sleep is no easy feat. The downside, however, is that most of these magical products seem to fall out of our price range—or so we thought. We’ve rounded up the most popular and top-rated concealers on the market to prove that replicating a flawless complexion doesn’t have to cost a fortune.Keep scrolling to find out the top concealers, all $29 and under.

Top-rated by Sephora users and a favorite of actress Priyanka Chopra, this concealer from Bobbi Brown has skin conditioning ingredients to help nurture the delicate under-eye area while hiding dark circles. It’s also resistant to water, sweat, and even humidity, so you can wear it confidently no matter the weather.

Maybelline’s global makeup artist, Grace Lee, loves to use this product to diminish puffy eyes and conceal discoloration. She recommends gently tapping it on for maximum control of opacity and for the most natural finish. “It’s always great with fingers, as you need a very small amount,” she explains.

This unique dual-ended product features a creamy matte stick concealer for heavy-duty coverage and a liquid illuminator to liven up dull skin. When used together, the result is a perfect complexion with a natural looking glow. One Sephora user says, “I love the fact that I get a cream concealer AND a liquid one all in one product. I’ve never looked so awake.”

Formulated with SPF 35, this concealer is perfect because it protects and prevents fine lines and discoloration while hiding preexisting imperfections. It has gained a spot on the top-rated lists of both Sephora and Ulta, and users love that it never settles into skin throughout the day.

We admit, this product is appropriately named—it truly is amazing. This mini version of the bestselling, cult-worthy concealer covers nearly anything and is offered in a wide array of colors. The best part is that a little bit goes a long way. One Sephora user reports, “The tiniest bit can cover so much, so you do have to be careful to use a teeny tiny amount or you’ll apply too much.”

This Ulta-exclusive boasts around 3000 reviews and has a nearly five-star rating, which isn’t surprising considering that it uses Tarte’s signature Amazonian clay and a variety of hydrating naturals to achieve a creamy, flawless finish. The precision tip is great for covering spots, but you can also use it with a sponge for a knockout highlight or contour.

We know that color-correcting can make a world of difference when it comes to evening out discolorations. The pastels might look a little daunting, but this palette from NYX is a favorite, due to its foolproof coverage and affordable price. Just think back to the color wheel when applying these cream concealers, and you’ll be good to go.

Created with the help of plastic surgeons, It Cosmetic’s award-winning concealer is packed full of powerful ingredients like peptides, hyaluronic acid, and antioxidants. It has been clinically proven to help skin appear younger instantly and over time. Ulta users say that a little goes a long way and note that both a Beautyblender and a brush work well for application.

This two-in-one formula from Clinique is lightweight enough to use as a foundation, but it’s also opaque in order to cover pesky blemishes. It’s a favorite of Sephora users and Byrdie editors alike, due to its multitasking abilities, affordable price, and comfortable wear.

Long-lasting, fade-proof, and comfortable seems to be the name of the game for Kat Von D, no matter whether she’s working with lips or face. The stakes were high for her concealer to provide full coverage for hours, and we’re happy to report (along with many other users) that she succeeded. This concealer is successful in covering everything from dark spots to blemishes with no cakey finish.

Next up, Shop: Banish Flaky Skin With These Ultra-Hydrating Saviors

From byrdie

Can buying a beauty product solve all your problems? Maybe not—but we know full well how powerful a brand-new lipstick (or perfume, or serum) can make us feel. With that in mind, we present to you our new Shop series—a carefully curated collection of all the buzziest beauty products to feast your eyes on, maybe lighten your wallet with, and definitely feel great about. Our market editors will be scouring the interwebs and our favorite retailers to bring you the noteworthiest new beauty gems before you see them everywhere else. So go ahead and shop—you deserve it.

Whether you’re prone to dry skin or simply looking for extra hydration during the colder months, look no further than these ultra-moisturizing products from Sephora to keep your skin smooth and hydrated. From scrubs to oils, shop our must-have moisturizers below.

Whether you choose the sheer pink color or the translucent finish, reach for this hydrating lip balm whenever you need an extra boost of moisture.

This five-minute facial in a jar targets dry, dull skin and reveals a smoother, brighter texture instantly.

If your skin is in need of some heavy-duty exfoliating, opt for this dry brush. At under $20, it’s the most effective way to promote healthy, glowing, smooth skin.

This multitasking oil is our go-to. Not only does it seriously hydrate your skin, but it also smooths fine lines and wrinkles to give you a youthful radiance.

In need of instant hydration? Opt for this cooling mask that’s filled with moisturizing ingredients like marine collagen and chamomile flower water.

Use this oil post-exfoliation to hydrate and brighten skin all in one easy step.

Few things are as annoying and painful as dry, cracked hands. Keep this yummy-smelling lotion in your purse, by your desk, or wherever you may need instant relief.

This best-selling moisturizer is perfect for applying all over your skin and provides instant relief as well as long-term hydration for dry, distressed skin and eczema.

This in-shower savior is great for sloughing away rough patches on your legs, arms, and face.

Loved by celebrities, influencers, and everyone in between, La Mer has got its ultra-moisturizing cream down to a science.

Use this mask to calm and replenish your skin for an instant soft and supple feel.

Like a glass of water for your skin, this refreshing and moisturizing toner offers on-the-go relief for thirsty skin.

Slather on this rich, non-greasy lotion post-shower to hydrate your skin—a winter must-have.

While you may not be wearing sandals, there’s no reason to neglect your feet in the winter. Treat them to these soothing and nourishing sock masks to relieve dry, cracked skin.

Elbows, lips, cuticles, and feet are all extra susceptible to the drying effects of winter. Use this rich shea butter to spot-treat your skin as often as you need.

Next up, Black-Owned Haircare Brand Bread Wants to Make “Anti-Frizz” a Thing of the Past

From byrdie

Wash days. Need I say more? No matter your hair type, wash days can be a hassle. But for people with curly and tightly coiled tresses, cleansing and conditioning our hair can be especially time-consuming. From detangling to deep conditioning to styling, our wash day routines often involve several steps and products to keep our delicate, textured strands healthy and hydrated. If you’ve ever wished you could simplify your lengthy routine without sacrificing your hair’s moisture, then Black-owned hair care brand Bread is the answer to your prayers.

Launching today at Sephora, Bread has reimagined the way people with textured hair approach their routines. Founder Maeva Heim’s experiences with her hair laid the foundation for BREAD. “The journey to create BREAD started when I myself was transitioning from relaxed to natural hair after my chemical relaxer exploded in my suitcase while traveling,” says the Australian native. “When I went looking for brands and products for my hair type, I became disillusioned with what was available on the market, and frustrated with the lack of simplicity,” .

Growing tired of women of color not being included in the conversations around the idea of “lazy girl hair” and the rhetoric around Black hair that pushes for heavy product usage, lengthy routines, and extensive hair manipulation, Heim wanted to make effortless styling an option for Black women too. As a result, Bread solely focuses on creating easy-to-understand vegan and cruelty-free hair care basics. Bread’s pared-down product lineup includes a hair-wash, hair-mask, and hair-oil (which she calls a “lip gloss for your hair”)—plus, an oversized satin scrunchie she calls a “bread puff.” The products boast simple formulas with effective ingredients, like Australian native oils and super-fruit extracts, including Australian Kakadu plum.

Bread’s Hair Wash Gentle Milky Hair Cleanser ($20) is a gentle, semi-sudsing alternative to harsh, super-foamy shampoos. Loaded with hydrating ingredients like argan oil and aloe vera juice, the shampoo cleanses your hair (without stripping it of moisture) and leaves your strands smelling decadent. The brand’s second-step product is its Hair Mask Creamy Deep Conditioner ($28) –– a mask that gives slip and softness to your strands, making it easy to detangle. While it is designed to be a rinse-out conditioner, a small amount can be left on your hair to seal in moisture.

To round out the lineup, Bread offers its Hair Oil Everyday Gloss ($24), which can be applied to wet or dry hair to boost shine and softness.

“When I was developing the products and deciding what our key ingredients should be, I knew I wanted to hero Australia native ingredients,” Heim explains. “I was seeing a lot of the same ingredients over and over again and was questioning why other fruit seeds and butters weren’t being considered, even though their composition and results were similar, or sometimes even better. I wanted to branch out and discovered some exceptional ingredients close to home. We have some phenomenal native fruit and flower species in Australia that do wonders for natural hair, but haven’t really been utilized much, except in skincare.” In addition to the good-for-you ingredients, Bread products are free of sulfates, PEGs, and mineral oils, which qualifies them for the “Clean at Sephora” brands.

While Heim says she never saw herself working in the hair care industry, her background in beauty is extensive. Her mother owned one of the first Black-owned hair salons in Perth, Australia. Migrating from West Africa, Heim’s parents settled in Perth in the ‘90s at a time when there were few African immigrants living there. “I think opening the salon was my Mom’s way of gaining her autonomy back and making the most out of a skill and hairdressing practice that she had learned growing up in West Africa that was virtually unknown or very hard to come by in Perth at that time,” says Heim. “Looking back now, I realize how much of my inclination toward entrepreneurship was inspired by my mom and her ability to make the best of the situation she was in.”

Heim’s professional foray into the beauty industry came when she worked in brand management for L’Oreal and Procter & Gamble. It was during this time that she witnessed the blatant lack of representation of women of color in the beauty space. “My time working in the beauty industry was, as I like to say, during the pre-Fenty era. So much of what I experienced behind the curtain of larger brands in the industry was an unwillingness to develop or launch a larger range of foundation shades,” she says. “Speaking in the context of the Australia market specifically, there was also a real trepidation around using black models. When they were used, it was always in a supporting role. The amazing international ambassadors and models that were part of our asset base were never used as the hero model.”

The lack of inclusivity Heim saw in these beauty campaigns fuels her desire to make the hair care industry more diverse and thoughtful. For Heim, that means properly celebrating women of color through the branding and messaging of her brand. “I wanted to launch Bread as a brand that would allow women of color to be the hero, not just a footnote in a campaign,” says Heim. (She mentions during a phone call that this is why she chose the pouch packaging for the products—so that Black women could see the products and instantly know they were created for them. Plus, they’re made with 60% less plastic than traditional haircare packaging.) It also means celebrating Black hair in all of its textures. Part of Bread’s mission is to delete certain commonly used category terms from the brand’s language that have historically demonized characteristics associated with textured hair. One of them being “anti-frizz,” a word that Heim says frames frizziness as bad and undesirable.

I wanted to launch BREAD as a brand that would allow women of color to be the hero, not just a footnote in a campaign.

“I love frizz. I love big poofy, unbrushed-looking hair, and I want more people to love it too. I’m making it our brand’s ambition to make frizz aspirational. If frizz is desirable, it means less work for women with textured hair,” says Heim. “It means we can lean into the idea of ‘lazy girl’ hair, and we don’t have to over manipulate our hair or spend hours on end trying to craft the perfect glossy curls in order for our hair to be considered ‘good curls’. My hair is 4C and coarsely textured. Maintaining the type of curl that is most often considered the curly ideal is just not realistic for me or for women who have hair like me. Let’s make all types of curls and texture not just acceptable, but desirable. I think as a brand we have that responsibility.”

Bread’s launch in Sephora is part of Sephora’s Accelerate Program. In 2019, Heim was selected as one of the first-ever Australian participants in the Sephora Accelerate program, securing a launch deal for both in-store and online. Ranging from $20-$58, the full assortment of Bread products will be available on BreadBeautySupply.com and Sephora.com beginning July 14, 2020, followed by select Sephora stores beginning August 28th.

Next up, Not Your Average Sunscreen: 8 SPFs That Fit Into Real Life