Accessories : Beauty and Fashion Tech

DHC Eye Shadow Palette and Eye Shadow Brush

DHC is a Japanese skin care and cosmetics company. I am a long time fan of DHC skin care products, especially their Olive Oil cleanser (read review) and White Sunscreen (Read Review), but I had not tried any of the DHC makeup. Having read some good things about various DHC makeup items, I decided to change that by ordering some.

My first review is of the DHC Eye Shadow Perfect Pro Palette in topaz, and the DHC Eye Shadow Brush . I am impressed with both. Below is a photo I took of the palette.

The first thing that struck me about the DHC Eyeshadow palette was the packaging. A little door opens up over the applicator, and then a mirrored door opens over the eye shadow. It is unique and attractive. The shadow itself is fine. The shades are rather light, and sort of remind of some of the Clinque light neutral shades. That is also fine with me, but if you like really dramatic eye shadow, this might not be for you. The shadow also generally wore well for me. I also like how it is packaged, with the largest pan being the base shade and the liner as the smallest. It balances out the use better that way!

DHC also makes a line of synthetic brushes and sells them at a pretty good price, so I added an eye shadow brush to my purchase. This turned out to be one of the best synthetic brushes I have ever used. Most cheap brushes will have some initial hair loss and might not feel all that soft. But the DHS brush that I bought was quite soft and not a single hair fell out of it. So I was left quite impressed with it, especially considering its $9 price tag.

DHC items are only available online and through mail order. You also get your choice of four samples with every purchase and each mail catalog comes with a sample or two (or sometime three or four) in it. So it is a good mailing list to be on!

Popularity: 27% [?]

Pierce Mattie PR’s Haute List.

A while back, Shannon Nelson at Pierce Mattie Public Relations complied a great list of Haute Beauty, Fashion and Lifestyle Brands that you should keep your eye on. Reprinted here with permission are just a few examples from her article.

To see the entire list with other items ranging from Women’s and Men’s apparel to Magazines, Cocktails, Fitness, Vacation Destinations, and more, visit the full article at the Pierce Mattie website!

TV Shows:
1. 90210
2. Kath & Kim
3. Gossip Girl

Jewelry Brands:
1. John Hardy
2. Alexis Bittar
3. Trollbeads

Handbag Lines:
1. Rebecca Minkoff
2. Foley+Corinna
3. Timi & Leslie

Cosmetic Lines:
1. e.l.f.
2. Colorescience
3. Classified Cosmetics

Skin Care:
1. Korner
2. Lavera
3. Kaeline Argatherapie

Popularity: 24% [?]

Japonesque Pink Go Curl Eyelash Curler

Japonesque has a full line of makeup and cosmetic tools and brushes. For October, they have released a neat little item, the Limited Edition Pink Ribbon Japonesque Pocket Eyelash Curler. This is a pink version of their regular Go Curl Pocket Eyelash Curler.

This cute pink curler is perfect for your purse or travel kit. A lever in the back flips down to operate the curer, which is pretty easy to use and has a good pad. The shape makes it slightly odd to use, but I loved the combo of the white pad and pink plastic. It allowed me to easily see that I had all my lashes in the curler—something I have troubles with when using a regular eyelash curler. Indeed, aside from the charitable aspects, I recommend the pink version over the regular black one for that reason.

At $11, this is a good value item. 20% of the purchase price goes to the City of Hope Foundation.

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Popularity: 20% [?]

Ziba, aka Sumita, Body Art and Brow Products

Ziba Beauty Cosmetics carries some wonderful and unique items for body art and they also happen to have a great brow line.

The body art line features appliqués in various patterns. These can be reused easily if handled carefully. Each piece is beautifully designed and can be used in a variety of ways. The line has all sorts of items such as peacocks, stars, teardrops, and more.What I really loved from Sumita was the brow items. The brow pencils come in varying shades, and the light shade, Chai (pictured), had a particularly nice tone to it. So often it seems that brow pencils are too ashy in color, but this one was not. The pencils are soft and blend quite well.

I particularly loved the Sumita brow wax pencil. The wax comes in a thick crayon type of pencil for easy application and it does a very nice of setting things with a natural look. It has quickly become a favorite item of mine! Unfortunately, they don’t seem to be selling that item online yet, but if you are in California, you can take a look a the list of store locations.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Anastasia Beverly Hills, Everything You Need For a Perfect Brow

Anastasia has long been a powerhouse in the area of brow tools and cosmetics. So I was excited to give a bunch of items a try and they definitely didn’t disappoint. Anastasia has everything you need to achieve a perfect brow.

First off, the tweezers are great. Next to Tweezerman, these are the best eyebrow tweezers that I have used, and they come at a decent price for the quality. Plus, they are pink!

Anastasia also offers brow stencils, which are a fairly unique item for shaping your brows. Available in either stick on temporary form or a thicker reusable plastic form, the stencil can be applied across the brow and filled with color to show what you should tweeze and what you should keep. The stencils are available in various sizes and arch heights, so you can choose the one that works the best. I found the heavier plastic ones easier to use than the lightweight temporary ones, and the low arch stencil seemed to fit me well. For those who have no idea where to begin shaping, the stencils are a good option.

For color, Anastasia offers a wide range of options, from pencils to powder duos. All that I tried were effective, nice to use, and in attractive packaging. The Anastasia Duo II Brow Powder in Medium Ash was my favorite and worked well with my medium blonde hair and light skin tone. The Brow Pencil was effective as well. The company also offers a series of very nice highlighting pencils, such as the Anastasia Eye Lights Shimmer in Petal, which is a beautiful soft pink highlighter.

For setting, I liked the Anastasia Clear Brow Gel, and I really loved the Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel (pictured), which had just a bit of warm sparkle to it that was perfect for a night out. I tried the tinted version in Carmel, which is a beautiful shade for golden and medium to dark blondes.

For those who want the basics all together, the Anastasia Five Piece Brow Kit (pictured) comes in various shades, with an attractive pink case that includes Tweezers, Brow Powder, Brow Stencils (Set of Four Shapes), One Duo Brush (Angled Cut/Spooley), and Brow Gel. Move up to the Anastasia Seven Piece Brow Kit to add Pre-Tweeze Gel and an Eye Light Matte Pencil. Those looking to fill in thin spots or to condition the brow, might also want to look at Anastasia Brow Enhancing Serum. I might write more on that in the future after I try it for awhile.

Overall, Anastasia is one stop shopping for just about all you need in brow care and cosmetics!

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Popularity: 17% [?]

Elf Cosmetics Mineral Makeup Kit

e.l.f. cosmetics is widely known for their $1 cosmetics, although some of their items run a few dollars more. Now they have released a full line of mineral makeup at excellent prices.

A Mineral Starter Kit is $20 and contains:

Mineral Foundation-SPF 15
Mineral Concealer-SPF 15
Mineral Blush
Total Face Brush
Blush Brush
Canvas Case

That is a good amount of items for the price. Mineral eye shadows are only $3 each. One thing to note though is that these items contain bismuth, which is common ingredient in many mineral makeup brands, but unfortunately, it is also an irritant to some people. The kit is paraben free.

Comparison Shop for Mineral Makeup

Popularity: 14% [?]

Beauty Accessories for Holiday Gifts

Beauty accessories make great gifts and can run from very affordable to quite expensive and luxurious. Here are a few suggestions from a variety of categories:

Sephora Train Case Cosmetics Makeup Storage Gift

Something that I really want is a good train case. Cosmetics take up a lot of space and get disorganized easily. A quality case, such this Sephora Midnight Train Case (above) solves the problem. This is a gift that is sure to be appreciated. Want to really impress (at a rather large expense)? Fill it with makeup first! Brushes also deserve their own case and this Sephora Folding Double Brush Case is a nice one that would pair well with a train case.

Pink Cris Notti Makeup Bag Windows Holiday

For the person who loves pink, this Cris Notti Windows Double Clutch Makeup Bag (above) is certain to impress. Cris Notti cases are quite nice and come in a variety of styles. Or for a woman who likes sparkle, check out this Stephanie Johnson Hollywood, Dana Mini Chain Bag.

Bliss Softening Socks and Rosemary Lemon Salve

A truly wonderful gift, and something not every person has, are Bliss Softening Socks (above). These gel socks contain 50 treatments to soften the feet. Pair them up with Bliss Rosemary + Lemon Softening Sock Salve for an extra bonus. A similar product for the hands are the Bliss Glamour Gloves.

A quality hair dryer usually costs a small fortune. For that reason, many people don’t own a good one. If you have the money to spend and want to impress a person who slaves over their hair, buy the T3 Micro 1800W Tourmaline II Ionic Hair Dryer, Model 83808se. This is one heck of a hair dryer!

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Popularity: 10% [?]