Hair Pow(d)er!

Nothing like heat and humidity (hello thunderstormy summer in Central NY) to kill a good hair day. The added bonus of Bootcamp summer term for all of us grad students doing the Newhouse program at Syracuse U is the pressure of fitting propper grooming into a painfully long day- let's just say ponytails are on the rise.

My personal hair savior? Stila Hair Refresher. This fabulously finely milled and gorgeously scented powder is a step beyond the old trick of massaging baby powder into your scalp to soak up excess oil and banish limpness. The genius spout on the bottle distributes perfect whisps of powder into trouble spots like bangs or you can gently drop a small ammount of powder into your palm, coat your palms, and distribute across your whole head. Bonus? The powder provides the perfect ammount of grip for doing lavish updos with squeaky clean hair while preserving volume. I'm loving the scent of Creme Bouquet, a gorgeous vanilla tempered with white flowers and just a hint of clean baby powder. The generous 2.6 oz bottle lasts forever, making it a bargain at $28.

Get the Look: "Gray's Anatomy"

Although I'm by no means an avid watcher of "Gray's Anatomy," I've been a huge fan of the makeup used on the three lead female characters- they have the epitome of that perfect "no-makeup" natural glow that I strive to recreate. Until recently I wasn't quite sure how to replicate the look, but after stumbling upon a drugstore treasure and watching the season finale (um, cliffhangers much?) I think I've got the key basics down.

LIPS- The girls lips are slightly glossed with just a hint of peachy pink color that looks fresh but utterly natural. Neutrogena MoistureShine tinted lip balm in Glow is the best thing I've found to mimic the color- it's a shiny peach with a touch of pink, beige, and golden shimmer that lets your natural lip color show through enough so that the color doesn't look fake. The formula is similar to Vincent Longo's Baby Balm line in slickness and the SPF 20 is a huge bonus for summer (the shade range is limited, but this is a really great product and worth checking out). If your lips are naturally very rosy, you can neutralize them a bit further with either a pale nude lip liner like Stila Glaze Liner in Nude or a thin layer of an opaque pale nude gloss or lipstick like NARS Lip Lacquer in Chelsea Girls. The idea here isn't really to change your lip color, but rather to mimic the nude peachy pink glow while working with your natural lip tone, so don't coat your lips too much or it will spoil the effect.

SKIN- Keep things fresh and clean- cover any spots or under eye circles with concealer and go light on foundation but cover any redness. Pat over any concealer or foundation that you put on very lightly with a damp cosmetic sponge to blend it all into your skin. The girls don't wear noticeable blush or bronzer, but dusting a little glowy highlighter on your cheeks will again help to mimic their natural glow. There are tons of great highlighters out there, but choose on that's very finely milled (read: not glittery) in the peach to pink range- whatever is most flattering on your skin. I like Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks in Rose and Apricot, they reflect light in an almost dewy way and don't show up as noticeable sparkle even on those of us with large pores while providing a hint of color. Sweep it on the tops of cheekbones from the apple of the cheek towards the temple. If you want a little more dewiness in the look, use a pearly liquid highlighter like Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer.

EYES- If lids are oily prep them with a dab of Urban Decay Primer Potion, then smooth on a light coat of foundation regardless. The idea is to even out the skin of the eyelid and cover up darkness and tiny veins. If you like, sweep on a subtly pearly eyeshadow similar to your skin color (probably in the champagne to cocoa range), but don't use anything too shimmery or frosty- it's texture overkill considering lips and cheeks. Bobbi Brown, Stila, and Tarte are great brands to look at (I like Tarte's Champagne Brunch). If you feel naked without eyeliner, use a damp liner brush to push a blackened brown eyeshadow like Stila Espresso (shown center) into the lash line, which defines the eyes without making an obvious line. Follow with a brown black or soft black waterproof mascara on curled lashes.

Best Blush Ever

A short time ago I posted on how to work with powder blush to make it more natural. The truth of the matter is that while I love working with powder blush, it's not my favorite. I reach for my Cargo Miami Beach when I'm in the biggest hurry and when I look exhausted, and I love to play with blending shades of powder when I'm getting dressed up for fun, but when it comes down to it I think that creams and gels give a glowier more natural look.

As Rosie Jane Johnston, founder of Rosie Jane Cosmetics, commented in Lucky a long while back, there really is something about powder blush that just kills a dewy look. Fresh dewy cheeks are another one of those things that I get complemented on all the time, and truthfully- the only things you need to execute it perfectly are some concealer if you have blemishes, a dewy cream or gel blush, and some setting powder. I recommend a drier concealer like Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage because it won't smear off as easily. The application of the blush itself depends on the exact product you're working with. I don't care much for liquids, they're harder to control and messier- overall not worth dealing with when there are so many hassle-free alternatives on the market. If you're working with a highly pigmented cream or something in pot form, dabbing two or three fingers or a sponge into the product and using a smudging motion on the cheeks works well. Very dry and highly pigmented products yield lovely results when you work them into skin dampened with moisturizer, which also adds some dewiness as these tend to be a little more on the matte side of things. If it's a sheerer/wetter product or something in stick form, it usually works just fine to apply straight to the skin and then blend the edges with fingers or a sponge. The key to not looking like a big shiny mess is to mattify the rest of the skin- especially around the nose and under the eyes- so that only the cheeks are giving off sheen. You can also experiment with dusting powder over the top of the blush to control how dewy it looks, some of the wetter formulas will still look shiny after the powder sets for a few minutes. Ultimately it's worth it to play with these products until you master the application, and don't hesitate to aks someone at the makeup counter for help if you don't know where to start with a specific product.

I first fell in love with Stila Convertible Colors because Rose, a gorgeous soft red, looks lovely on both cheeks and lips. These tend to fall into the dry category, although the colors tend to have different consistencies. Generally I sweep a dab of moisturizer onto my cheeks, pat two fingers onto the surface and smudge to blend, then swipe the excess color on my fingers onto my lips and top with clear gloss. This is definitely a harder product to master, especially the darker colors, because it takes so little product, and I don't recommend investing in this if you're constantly crunched for time although it's a great multipurpose product to take traveling. Stila Convertible Colors retail for $22.

Tarte Cheekstains are my overall favorite cream/gel blush because they're so easy to use, they have great lasting power, and they come in a very wearable range of shades. The big push pop packaging creates a large round surface to pick up product with your fingers, a sponge, a cream blush brush, or allows you to apply it directly to the skin with very little efort. Minimal blending is necessary as these are pretty sheer, but the color builds nicely with some layering. Some of the shades are in a true translucent gel formula and others are creamier and opaque in the package, but all of them give a sheer pop of color to the skin. After a couple tries, I've found that these take only a little more time to apply than a sweep of powder, and their moistness definitely perks skin up on those painfully tired days. Some people experience that these don't dry completely on their skin, but I've found that a light dusting of powder on top doesn't completely kill the dewiness and sets the blush so that it lasts all day. Generally these act like a stain, so once you apply them the color is good for most of the day. While the package is definitely bulky, you do get a ton of product for your money; one stick will last you for years to come. If that's too much commitment or too much blush to cart around in your purse, Tarte offers a mini size which also lasts forever even though much smaller. Blushing Bride is definitely a shade to check out, it's an earthy warm berry that I've found to be much more flattering on pale skin than pinky reds like Benefit's Benetint. Tipsy is one of those fabulous peachy pinky shades that magazines tout for good reason as gorgeous on most skin, and especially perky when you're tired or sick. Tarte Cheekstains retail for $28 for the full size, $15 for the mini.

Got Shine?

Don't get me wrong, I love glossy lips and dewy cheeks. But the oil slick known as my forehead? Yeah, not so much. Since puberty I've tried a number of powders and primers to keep the oilies at bay, but MAC Blot is definitely the standout.

But before getting into the merits of Blot, there isn't enough powder in the world if you don't have a good skincare routine to begin with. I can't tell you how many women I know think they have a serious oil problem but don't use any moisturizer or don't wash their faces on a regular basis. Beauty magazines tend to run regular articles about basic skincare, so if you don't have a routine established yet I suggest going to the library and flipping through some old issues of Allure. Personally, my oiliness has greatly imroved since I've simplified my routine down to a gentle cream cleanser twice a day, a light moisturizer with seaweed extract- The Body Shop's Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream is beloved by myself and my BFF, the Olay at home microderm kit once a week, and the occasional mud mask or serum application when I'm stressed. I've found that consistent daily face washing and moisturizing and a weekly gentle but deep exfoliation goes a long way in improving oiliness.

Although this regimen has drastically improved my skin, I do rely on MAC Blot powder to keep my face looking polished throughout the day. I usually apply with a fluffy brush in the morning, and once again before going out at night and my face stays shine free without looking cakey or ashy. I've used it with and without foundation and it seems to work equally well, although I would recommend gently pressing your face with a tissue after foundation and before Blot; this is a great trick to gently lift excess moisture out of the foundation while leaving the pigment behind so the face stays matte longer throughout the day. If you use powder foundation but still get oily, using Blot underneath other powders is also pretty effective at controlling oil. One piece advice on shade selection- unless you're gothic white, pale ladies should go for Medium, Light is a little too chalky.

If you're not too oily and find Blot a bit on the dry side, Stila Sheer Pressed Powder is great for achieving a polished look but couldn't quite stand up to my oily skin. If you love powder but have normal to dry skin, Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder gives an amazing soft focus glow- I love it, but my oily skin eats through it in a couple hours.

For That Effortless Glow

Me and Bobbi Brown, we're on the same page when it comes to creating a realistic looking glow. For years I've been layering two or three shades of powder blush to get the most natural looking color and as I was flipping through a back issue of a beauty magazine Bobbi listed this as one of her top makeup tips. So hey, we can't both be wrong...

Bobbi recommends using a soft color close to the shade you naturally blush and a brighter pop of color like apricot or coral pink. I don't particularly regard this as a rule that you should absolutely follow, but I do find that using shades from two different color families works best as long as they're colors that work on you and they coordinate well. I.e. don't use something extremely warm toned or orange based with something extremely cool toned or blue based. On my pale skin I love to mix Bobbi Brown's Pale Pink blush-bright cotton candy pink, with Stila Tutu blush- softer peachy pink. This trick is also highly effective with a bronzer, I've used everything from red, plum, pink, and peach with some golden bronzer and it looks amazing.

The only downside with this trick is that it's not time effective, and often I just need something I can swipe on over a little concealer and get out the door. Two years ago my best friend bought Cargo's Beach Blush, and once I saw what it can do I've been hooked ever since. I use Miami Beach, shown at left, which shows up as an effortless healthy dusty pink golden bronze. This shade is great for pale skinned girls whose skin makes most nude beige pinks and bronzes go orangy. My olive toned best friend loves Coral Beach which is a peachier golden bronze, and it flatters her whether she's pale or fairly tan. Besides how easy they are to use, they're also nicely versatile- the two lightest shades make great eyeshadows, so when I go on vacation I usually just take my Beach Blush, mascara, concealer, and a lipgloss. While sometimes these look a little too shimmery in the sunlight, they don't emphasize pores as much as other shimmer blushes out there. Cargo has one matte shade out, and will probably release more in the future. Beach Blush retails for $26, and comes in five ultra flattering shades.

Mmm, Lashes

As some of you may know, I had muscle corrective eye surgery a little over a moth ago, after which I wasn't allowed to wear eye makeup for two weeks. While I could handle not wearing eyeshadow (maybe I cheated occasionally with a touch of highlighter on my browbone), I really began to miss mascara.

In the interest of keeping my eyes clean even after I could wear it again, I decided to toss my almost empty tube of Maybelline Full'n'Soft waterproof mascara and thought it would be fun to experiment a little with a few of the small tube samples I've received over the past year. Generally it's a bad idea to base your opinion of a mascara based off of a tiny sample- generally the full size is probably going to be better. But I was reasonably impressed with Stila's Major Lash and Lorac Lashes, both of which gave me pretty, long, defined lashes that could easily be built up to a little more drama. Generally I'm not willing to buy high-end mascara, I think the drugstore has plenty of awesome options and I'm not going to feel good about throwing away an expensive mascara when it starts to go funny as mascaras often do. But both of these seem like they have potential and they're not too expensive if you prefer a step above drugstore.

When I went to the drugstore to pick up a full-sized tube, Cover Girl's Lash Exact was on sale so I thought I'd give it a try. It's been years since I've strayed from Full'n'Soft and I've never bought anything other than Maybelline as I've always been impressed (aside from the generally hated Great Lash), but I've been curious about the new trend of soft rubber bristled mascara brushes so on a whim I decided to try it. I have to say, I'm less than impressed with the formula- it really tends to flake and smudge throughout the day. And while my lashes were nicely separated and defined, it didn't do a very good job of coating the tips of my lashes which made them look a lot shorter than they usually do with mascara. Overall it was really difficult to build any volume and thickness without my lashes beginning to clump. The brush, however, is pretty useful- it does a nice job of reaching the lashes on the outer corner of the eye although again building volume is problematic. It's also great for doing lower lashes, where you mostly want some tint and definition and not thickness or lenght. If you're looking for really subtle tint and definition, this is a pretty good formula although I would suggest getting the waterproof formula, or if you strive to sculpt perfect lashes you might get this on sale and use it for the brush. Otherwise I'd pass.



I probably won't be straying from my beloved Maybelline Full'n'Soft waterproof again. It really does a great job of giving me volume and lenght while keeping my lashes defined. The waterproof formula never smudges or flakes, and the soft wax formula keeps my lashes from getting brittle and it's really not that hard to remove with just soap and water. I do however use Lush's Ultra Bland cleanser- a rich oily makeup remover- to take off eye makeup a couple times a week to condition my lashes and keep them from breaking. Maybelline Full'n'Soft varies in price and is widely available at drugstores, Lush Ultra Bland is $13.50 for 1.5 oz.