Beauty of a Site Blog

I'm always a little skeptical when a product calls itself a "miracle."  Makeup is makeup, is it not? However, I was pleasantly surprised when I tried Miracle Skin Transformer for the first time.  I'm only in my twenties; I have smile lines and some minor acne scars left over from high school, but I am not covered in wrinkles or age spots.  Because of this, I was *shocked* to find that this foundation made such a drastic difference when applied to my skin.  For the first time testing new foundation, I actually felt like I looked prettier. The formula applied extremely comfortably.  Moisture-rich and velvety smooth, Miracle Skin Transformer went on beautifully.  The makeup evened-out color, covered blemishes flawlessly and did an incredible job of reducing the appearance of pores.  It was awesome. Seriously. The description of the "magic" ingredient, M3 Complex, provided by its manufacturer boasts the following benefits (with which I completely agree!):

• Transform skin tone and provide an instant matifying effect
• Neutralize free radicals
• Reduce redness, calm and soothe skin
• Minimize pigment inconsistencies and discolorations
• Refine pores’ texture while softening and soothing fine lines

Miracle Skin Transformer can be purchased here for $48 and is available in the following hues:

A new season, a new look!  Here in the Midwest we had our first week of Fall weather.  Along with our sweaters and boots, we pulled out some new looks for the season.  Here are some looks we're seeing on the runways! Smoky eyes get revamped for Fall 2011! Choose burnt oranges, deep blues, turquoise hues and plums for an unexpected splash of color. Apply above and below eyes for a dramatic and beautiful look! We suggest Tigi High Density Eyeshadow Singles for beautiful and high quality shades. While pretty pink blushes were the craze over the summer, Fall is all about a clear, fresh, dewy face.  Choose a light foundation, powder and more importantly, a fresh-looking mineral tint.  These tints bring out your skin's natural glow while covering minor imperfections. We suggest Tigi's Mineral Glow in Natural Glow. Switch up your look with thick, bold eyebrows.  Use a brow defining pencil for additional shaping, but fill and expand using a brow sculpting kit.  We suggest the Tigi Brow Sculpting Duo.  Choose either Brunette or Blonde colors of wax and powder to shape and thicken to your heart's content!  

Alright, Moody Judy.  We've got the perfect makeup palette for you. Like to switch up your look depending on your mood? A nice cool set of hues for night, and a warm comforting palette for a natural, glowing complexion, this palette provides the best of both worlds.  Packed with high quality eye color, cheek color, lip color, lip liner and lip venom, the DuWop Moodswing Palette has all the colors you need in one beautiful package. The Palette includes two of DuWop's popular, unique products: Reverse Lipliner: Invisible lip pencil that helps you flawlessly shape your lips without the harsh edges of a colored lip liner.  Using Kombuchta, a miracle ingredient that causes "lipofilling", the Reverse Lipliner pencil can actually restore volume to the skin in areas where volume is needed, including fine lines around your lips. Lip Venom: DuWop Lip Venom is the very first, original lip plumper. Tingly on application, DuWop lip venom results in sexy bee stung lips, causing blood to rush to the surface and flush lips perfectly.  Lip Venom also includes jojoba & avocado oil to add moisture and shine, giving you the perfectly natural rosy look that is one of kind. Click here to purchase the DuWop Moodswing Palette, on sale for the month of July! Usually $42.00, purchase the palette for only $28.00!!

With your vacation planned, your clothes picked out and a beach in Hawaii awaiting your arrival, only one obstacle remains: packing.  Like all of us, you just don't know how you're going to get everything you need for your trip in one suitcase.  Especially with airline regulations about number of bags, size of bags and size of toiletries, packing is truly becoming an art! Because you want to look good on your vacation, investing in quality toiletries in airline and travel ready sizes is essential.  The week that you plan on taking two hundred pictures is NOT the week to be depending upon some hotel travel shampoo, nor is it the week to pack less clothes just to fit in your full-sized salon products. So, to help a sista out, here are a couple of excellent travel sets to make your travel plans WAY easier: For Your Hair: The Blow to Go Travel Kit.  Including four products specifically designed for heat styling, of the highest salon quality, this convenient kit is packaged in 2 oz airplane ready bottles, even packed in a small, clear plastic bag.  Did we mention how CUTE this thing is!? ($28) For Your Skin: Juara Glow on the Go Travel Kit. Also in travel sizes (all under 2 oz), and packaged in a clear plastic bag, the Glow to Go Kit addresses all of your toiletry needs, including facial cleanser, facial mask, hydrating toner, moisturizer and body balm.  In lovely packaging and suitcase-friendly sizes.($36) Cosmetics: Bella Il Fiore Face Palettes.  MakeUp doesn't travel well, but vacation is not the time to be skimping on quality cosmetics.  Take care of the space and travel issues with a multi-use color palette, including beautiful colors and a range of texture and formulas to accommodate eyes, lips and cheeks in one small palette.  Beautifully packaged and expertly coordinated. ($20)

Why yes, we DID say free. Cake Beauty's glosses are creamy and delectably flavored, nourishing and hydrating lips with a hint of color and TONS of shine! Apply for smooth, shimmery lips that look deliciously kissable and taste faintly of sweet vanilla cream. Like a quaint dessert after a great meal, a touch of Cake lip gloss brings a smile to anyone's lips! For the month of May only, Beauty of a Site is giving away FREE Cake lip gloss to anyone who orders $30 worth of Cake product. Especially for those of you already hooked on Cake, this is the perfect time to put in your usual order, and score a lovely lip gloss on us! Click here to start shopping Cake today! Want to know more about our specials? Click here to see them all!

Before you go out tonight, give your brows a shape up.  Here are some pro tips for beautiful, quick brows: 1. Comb your eyebrows upward before you start, so that you're working with a uniform brow. 2. While a set of quality tweezers will help you get all of the stray hairs under your natural brow line, an at home waxing kit will help you control the downy extras between your brows and around the outside of your eyes.  We suggest Tweezerman's Speedy Tweeze for normal plucking and the Moom Face Kit (only $7!) for waxing. 3. Identify where your eyebrows should begin by placing a brush or pencil alongside the edge of your nose, vertically.  Anything on the other side of the brush needs to be plucked.  Place the same tool at the corner of your nose diagonally toward the outside of your eye.  Where the pencil hits the brow marks the natural end.  Pluck anything outside of this area. 4.  After plucking, dab milk (oh yes, you totally heard me right) over the plucked area to reduce swelling and calm your skin.  This will help to quickly reduce redness. 5.  To get a more uniform brow, * carefully * pluck out any hair that refuses to be shaped, is an off color or is longer than those in the surrounding area.  Do this only when completely necessary. Then, fill in any gaps with an eyebrow pencil, or an eyebrow mousse (like this one).

As we're running around finishing up our perfect New Year's Eve look for tonight (nothing like shopping at the office!), we thought you might enjoy hearing about what we used to get the look!  We loved sparkly pinks, silvers and dark matte greys to build the perfect New Year's Eve glam! For Nails: From the OPI Burlesque Holiday Collection, we chose Sparkle-icious.  One of the six glitters (not shimmers, but glitters), this shade is multi colored (that's right... it matches everything) and adds just the right glitz to our get up. For Skin: To get the perfect pink glow, we skipped bronzer and used classic pink blush (Bed Head has a perfect selection), coupled with all over shimmer powder.  We concentrated the shimmer along cheek bones and even under the brow line for maximum impact.  We got the best results using Bed Head's Shake It Loose Powder in Shimmer. For Eyes: Natural mineral shadow, like the Orglamix Pure Mineral Eye Color adds the perfect natural sheen, while being easily blended and applied for intricate looks.  We thought the Twilight eye color kit was absolutely perfect, because it used the playful pink we love with darker grey tones and white highlights. * Pro Tip: Use the eye color kit picture on the website as a guide to blending and applying the three shades. For Lips:  Shimmering natural lips seemed perfect for the occasion, so we chose DuWop's Lip Venom to gloss and accentuate our natural lip color to the perfect kissable pink.  DuWop's Pink Shimmer Lip Venom gave us both the perfect pink tint and subtle sparkle that was essential for our NYE theme. * Pro Tip: Never accentuate both eyes and lips on one night.  If your eyes are dark and dramatic, let naturally toned lips do the kissing.  Or, if you're sporting bright red lip stick, keep the eyes simple.  Choose where you want the focus to stay!

From a quick survey of the internet, it's oh so obvious which halloween costumes are going to be the most popular this year: Lady Gaga, Jersey Shores cast members, Twilight Characters, Alice is Wonderland, Avatar... and the list goes on.  Unfortunately, these had been all of my first picks as well, so the question remains: What can I do to set my costume apart? Ladies, the answer is always the same: The costume is in the details... it's time to accessorize! Here are some tips to make the three top costume choices your own, with a little help from Beauty of a Site: 1.  Lady Gaga with Falsies:  There's no question about it; if you want to rock Lady Gaga, you've got to rock some wicked cute false eyelashes.  And you know how it goes- the crazier the better.  We suggest something lush and dramatic like Eye Candy Strip Lashes or something jeweled and sparkly, like Tinsel Town Strip Lashes. 2.  Jersey Shore with Some Serious Volume: If you're going to pull of Snookie's look this Halloween, you're going to have to not only temporarily dye your hair black, but you're going to have to sport that massive bump in your 'do.  For some serious height, try Tigi Catwalk's Your Highness for Volume line.  Find root boosters, sprays and even a shampoo and conditioner that will help you get that elevation you need! 3.  Sexy Vamps with Glistening Complexion:  It always takes some skill to pull off Twilight cast costumes, because they dress like normal people.  The biggest difference between an undercover vampire and you and me is some super pale, lovely, glittery skin.  Add a little glitter to your powder to pull off the look!  We suggest using a mineral powder, like Orglamix Pure Mineral Powder in light Balsa, and mixing it with a fine silver glitter.  Not only will the mineral makeup give you a flawless complexion, but the bit of sparkle will have you looking like Alice, Rosalie or Edward in no time!

Who doesn't!? Applying false eyelashes can seem pretty daunting, and without some tips, it can be a big fat mess.  But never fear- when done properly (and when you have the know-how) it's a breeze and looks great every time! 1.  First things first- trip 'em up!  False eyelashes are one size fits all, so to make sure that they look natural on your face, trim them to the exact size and shape of your eyes.  Feel free to adjust the length of the individual lashes and the density of the group to get the look you're wanting. 2. Don't over-glue.  Glue is the "scariest" part about applying your own lashes, but it doesn't have to be.  Squeeze out a little bit of the glue onto a paper towel, a sponge or even the back of your hand, and carefully dip the edge of the falsies into the glob, getting just enough glue on the lashes.  This way, glue stays on the lashes and can't drip where it shouldn't be. 3. Make sure to mascara!  The best trick for getting your false lashes to stay put is by applying mascara very carefully after your lashes are firmly dried in place.  By applying mascara over both your natural and false lashes, the normal adhesion of the mascara holds both groups of lashes together and makes them blend perfectly, for extra hold and a perfect match! 4.  Get gutsy.  The best part about false eyelashes is their ability to give you a totally new look.  Try thicker, thinner, more colorful, more dramatic or sexier lashes to fit your mood, costume or plans!  Here are our suggestions for the best lashes for your style: Sexy: Eye Candy Strip Lashes, $9 Gaga-style party: Tinsel Town Strip Lashes, $9 Dramatic: Been Around Strip Lashes, $9 Natural: Black Sweeties Invisi-band Lashes, $6.50 Classic: Black Demi Wispies Invisi-band Lashes, $6.50 Click here to browse all of these sexy lashes!

It's been cool enough here in the Midwest this week for us to talk like it's Fall.  Along with cardigans, books and other Fall goodies, we're making some subtle adjustments to our cosmetic bag that scream, "hey, it's Fall!"  Here's our quick guide to small changes you can make to freshen up your style for the Fall season: 1.  Neutral nail shades.  Glamour's August issue warned us that we'd be seeing neutral nail shades everywhere we looked, and we're here to report that we are!  Along with Glamour, we totally recommend Essie's Mink Muffs (a classy, sassy taupe) and OPI's You Don't Know Jacques! (funky grey-beige creme) as the coolest neutrals of the season. 2.  Pucker up with red lips!  Whether you're heading to a show with friends or to an office meeting, rock classic red lips to liven up your look.  The bright lips work best with simple eyes (maybe even mascara only) and only a light bronzer instead of pinker blush.  Let your lips do the talking!  Do it best with DuWop's Private Red Lipstick which magically adjusts to be your own personal perfect red shade! 3.  Eyebrows that show.  That's right kids... stop plucking those suckers.  This trend started showing up earlier this year, but has really established itself both on the runways and in our own back yard.  With neutral makeup and a clean look being such a big part of fall style, having eyebrows to shape your face and give your look some color is a welcome change.  Keep your brows even and in order using Blinc's Eyebrow Mousse in the color that's right for you!

Whether you're a mom of four, a busy college student, or a hard-working principal of your local middle school, back to school means back to being busy.  Often being gone from your dorm room, house or apartment for an entire day, being in the swing of the school year necessitates makeup that you can apply in the morning and count on it to last- all day long.  Here are our top three products that we consider back-to-school essentials for makeup that lasts: 1.  Bella's Face Palettes:  Artfully designed to match any complexion beautifully, Bella Il Fiore's Face Palettes provide an easy-on-the-go makeup solution packed into one travel ready case.  Small enough to fit in a backpack, purse or even your pocket, the Bella Face Palettes expertly combine color, saving you time, and fitting easily on your person for touch ups. 2.  Blinc (Kiss Me) Mascara:  Blinc's Mascara is "totally tubular," featuring not a plastered, impossible to get off stick mascara, but an expertly designed tubing formula that literally creates a tube around your lashes.  The mascara won't even budge throughout your day, even with sweat, itchy eyes or P.E., but when combined with a little warm water at night, the tubes will slip off almost effortlessly.  We LOVE it. 3.  Last but not least, Model in a Bottle Setting Spray is like hairspray for perfect makeup.  Apply any makeup, just how you like it, and spray just a couple of bursts of Model in a Bottle over the top to set in your cosmetic creation for the entire day, while absorbing oil and keeping away unwanted shine.  Available in both an original and sensitive skin formula, don't worry about irritation.  This weightless, invisible spray will keep the attention where it belongs- on you!

A perfect bronze, subtle shimmer, silky moisturizers and even a bit of sun protection- we call it: the recipe for sexy summer skin. DuWop calls it: Revolotion. DuWop's Revolotion features a breakthrough blend of intense moisturizers, SPF 15, and a bronze shimmer that is perfect for highlighting face, shoulders, legs- anywhere that deserves subtle attention.  Revolotion is available in two shades to help this sheer body makeup blend seamlessly with any skintone to enhance your body's complexion without rub off, lines or unnatural color. DuWop even suggests that this miracle moisturizing blend can be applied to provide instant slimming effects! Watch the video below, produced by DuWop, to learn how to use Revolotion today!

Try Revolotion during August only and save $5!  Normally $28, purchase this here, at Beauty of a Site, for $23 through the end of the month.  Click here to shop this and more excellent DuWop cosmetics procucts!