The Budget Fashionista

What: Tailor-make your beauty with customizable makeup palettes.

What the experts say: What good is a makeup palette if it contains only one or two items that suit you? In steps customizable makeup palettes, which allow you to combine the best of what works for you into one easy-to-use palette.

“Palettes are a great way to organize your makeup and streamline your makeup routine,” makeup artist Bobbi Brown writes on her website. “Pick your favorite shades and custom-fill your choice of palettes. It’s the ultimate in personalized beauty.”

What we say: We love it when we come across a smart idea that simplifies our lives! Think about it: Rather than dig through an overflowing makeup bag filled with tons of product, we can access our go-to colors in one easy-to-use palette. Each palette compact comes empty, and you can pick and choose which items you want to plug into it.

We’ll take this one, and this one, and this one…with Bobbi Brown Empty 4 Pan Palette you can tailor your eyes and cheeks to your liking. The eyeshadows and blushes are on the pricy side—$20 to $22 each—yet provide dazzling results in a spectrum of just-for-you hues. We also dig Prescriptives Colorscope Large Compact , which allows you to piece together a product puzzle of innumerable color combos. For example: Snap in two Cheekcolors and a Highlighter, or do up your eyes with six Eye Color Singles—the options are endless (and slightly less expensive)!

For the ultimate in inexpensive personalization, we’ll be counting on mark Snap To It Mega Custom Color Palette, which allows us to play mad-scientist makeup artist without shelling out to much dough (each Custom Pick Eye Shadow is $4; each Good Glowing Custom Pick Powder Blush is $6).

Photo: Artistry.com

What: Angela slips into the new Totally Slimming Jeans from Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.™, which will be available at Wal-Mart stores nationwide starting this August, for under $20 a pair.

The Lowdown: Here's the deal -- the traditional five-pocket style Totally Slimming Jeans were designed to address women's typical problem areas -- stomach, things, rear end -- using a high-stretch fabric (more than the typical 1%) and including a built-in tummy control panel. I must admit, the pair I received was just a wee bit too big on me (one of the pitfalls of sample products) but I gave them a go anyway.
Here's what I loved: the denim (in a really nice dark wash) felt great -- soft but substantial, with plenty of give and stretch without becoming shapeless. Here's what I did not love: the design is deemed to be "at the waist", which, on me at least, turned out to be high-waisted. And not in an edgy, LA cool kind of way, but instead in a super-high mommy jean kind of way. According to an article on the jeans in the Wall Street Journal, testers liked where these jeans hit higher on the back, in order to avoid over-exposure when bending down, etc., but for me? The rise just seemd waaaay too long.

The big question, of course, is are the jeans slimming? Overall, probably yes -- partly because of the fabric and partly because of the dark wash and lack of embellishment to break up the long visual line of the jean. Are they a miracle jean? Uh, no, but we didn't really expect them to be.

Yea or Nay: If the high-waistedness of them doesn't bother you, or they fit you differently than they fit me, then I would say they're a yea, especially for the price. Just try them on before you buy, to be sure.

Buy It: Coming in August to your local WalMart.

Continue reading "Which of These Questionable Trends Have You Worn?: Daily Poll"...

Our contest to win a copy of Vogue Italia's July issue (which is selling out from many newsstands) ends tomorrow! Don't forget to leave a comment on that post for your chance to enter! In case you hadn't heard, Vogue Italia's July issue features all black models in its editorial photographs, including Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Iman, and many more beautiful ladies.

Click it: Vogue Italia: Win This

Image from NYTimes.com

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What: Get a free beauty gift with purchase during NORDSTROM's Anniversary Sale.

What We Say: Most of the time, we shop at NORDSTROM Rack because the prices at the department store are a bit too steep. But with their Anniversary Sale, we can purchase high-end beauty products and get free make-up, skincare, and perfume. In pouches, which we can use to store make-up. The brands offering gifts with purchase vary from the high end to very high....

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