FASHION Magazine

If you’ve ever spent more than 60 seconds inside a Sephora, you know how quickly things can rack up. A Guerlain bronzer here, a Chanel lipstick there, maybe even a Nars eyeshadow quad or two—and suddenly your makeup bag is worth more than your designer handbag. It makes us long for the days when a splurge was considered dropping $4 on a drugstore Lipsmackers.

Saving money on beauty products seems like a great idea in theory, but is it possible to save funds and still look fabulous? The short answer: YES! With a mix of drugstore brands and savvy shopping skills, it’s more than possible to create a complete look for less than $25. (And one that’s just as glam as a look created with top dollar products!) To show you just how easy it is to do beauty on a budget, we challenged the Beauty Panel to share their bargain beauty buys.

Challenge 55: How do you create a beauty look for under $25? See the answers now! »

There’s a reason some the world’s most famous faces don’t look their age. (And it’s not just thanks to intense daily booty-busting workouts.) Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna and Jennifer Aniston are all champions of going au naturel — when it comes to beauty products, that is. In addition to being better for the environment, all-natural and organic beauty products can do amazing things for your skin. One of the hottest ongoing health trends, promoted heavily by Paltrow and friends, is eating clean — that is, working from the inside out to project a healthy glow. So why not apply the same logic to your face?

Long gone are the days of products that, while touting ethical and health-boosting benefits, paled in comparison to the performance of the chemically-enhanced products we’d grown up with. Not to mention they were always a little bit harder on the wallet. Now that organic and natural beauty products have gone mainstream, there’s a whole slew of high-performing product available at all price ranges. But the next challenge? Finding the best of the best. Which is why we’ve turned to our panel of beauty blogging expert to share their tried, tested and true recommendations.

Challenge 46: What are your favourite organic and all-natural beauty products? See the answers now! »

There is perhaps no greater threat to our delicate skin than the cold weather. Chapped lips, flaky skin, tightness—the list goes on! With all the lotions and potions we slather on, we’re one economy-sized tub of moisturizer away from looking like a basted turkey ready for the oven. But when it comes to protecting our skin from the elements, we’ll do just about anything.

And our Beauty Panel is no different. When it comes to banishing dry skin and restoring some of that summertime glow, they have a plethora of ingenious tips and tricks. Sure, there are plenty of homemade remedies to try, but honestly, during the cold winter months a hot cup of tea can sound way more appealing than coating your face in pumpkin puree and banana. But before you stock up on winter-approved skincare products at your local drugstore, read on.

Challenge 45: How do you keep your skin happy when the cold weather hits? See the answers now! »

With the holiday party circuit reaching its fever pitch this weekend, a girl can run out of festive hairstyle options pretty quickly. And given the time crunch between now and December 25, we’re betting you wouldn’t mind putting down the blow dryer and curling iron for an evening. Enter the braided hairstyle: with endless variations (ranging from cute and casual to off-the-charts impressive) and possibilities for all skill levels, it only makes sense to work a braid into your holiday beauty routine.

To help you generate some ideas for your next braided hairstyle, we turned to the Beauty Panel. They shared their best braided looks and helpful tips that’ll make it easy for you to duplicate the looks with ease.

Challenge 41: What’s your go-to braided hairstyle? See the answers now! »

It’s hard to resist the glitz and glamour of the holidays—and considering that Hanukkah is here and Christmas is but a month away, bring it on. Since we’re embracing metallic hits of colour in everything from party dresses to decorations, it’s a no brainer that a good precious metals makeup look is also welcome this […]

The post How to wear metallic makeup: 6 shimmering Beauty Panel looks that are holiday party-ready appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Is there a better holiday than Halloween? It’s the one day of the year that we have free reign to create—and live the life of!—an alter ego, the more outlandish the better. From sci-fi heroes to spooky spirits, everything is possible on Halloween, especially when you have a makeup bag full of product to help you out. As anyone who recalls a childhood full of pans of primary-coloured face paint, you’ll agree that the best costumes are the ones that come with a crazy makeup requirement.

Plus, when else do you have reason to wear your biggest false lashes, your brightest eyeshadow colours and every glitter you own? Never, that’s when! As such, we turned to the Beauty Panel to share their Halloween makeup looks, and the results range from inventive to fantastical to downright gruesome.

Challenge 33: How are you doing your makeup for Halloween? See the answers now! »

If your beauty bag is missing violet hued products, we think you’re in need of a serious update. From eyeshadows to nailpolish to lipstick, deep purples have been creeping into every aspect of fall makeup and today, we’re teaching you how to make the rich hue work for you.

Jason Wu’s Fall 2013 collection reiterated purple’s prowess in flattering all skin types. His final runway piece, a floor grazing indigo dress, set the tone for the season’s runway beauty look. The show’s purple eyeshadow lifted all muted palettes and monochromatic looks while adding drama to the rouge and indigo pieces.

Challenge 31: Purple is a flattering and easy colour to wear for most eye colours and skin tones, but it can also look super dramatic. What are your tips for wearing the shade? See the answers now! »

Eyes are getting some serious kohl treatment, hair is left unkempt and the darker the lipstick, the better. Or at least that’s what happens when fall’s riot girl trend takes over our beauty routines—and we’re totally on board. The minimalist no-makeup look has its time and place, but there’s something so liberating about smudging eyeliner into messy shapes and embracing our rebellious side.

Thanks to this year’s punk-themed MET Gala, our favourite stars gave us a plethora of moody beauty looks to take inspiration from. Wearing the most daring deep shades of lipstick, Rooney Mara and Katy Perry were the epitome of sultry. Taylor Swift was all about the eyes, wearing top and bottom-heavy liner. And Kristen Stewart swapped out her signature charcoal smoky eye for a burgundy look worthy of Gucci. The message is clear: Get ready to reach for all the deep-toned makeup palettes in your arsenal when trying the riot girl trend!

Challenge 30: How do you channel the riot girl trend with your hair and makeup? See the answers now! »

Fall may be upon us, but with the Spring 2014 shows providing never-ending inspiration in the beauty department, we can’t help but get excited for what’s to come next season.

Though it seems like we’ve seen countless stunning beauty looks over the past couple of weeks, New York Fashion Week’s backstage beauty is still freshly instilled in our minds. How could we forget Prabal Gurung’s Ladurée macaron inspired lips and Alexander Wang’s raw-yet-glowing beauty that strutted down the runway? For us beauty junkies, there is no question that we’re ready to try out some of the Spring 2014 looks now. And who better than to share their favourite picks from the runways than the Beauty Panel?

Challenge 28: What was your favourite look for Spring 2014 from New York Fashion Week? See the answers now! »

TIFF 2013 has begun and there is no denying that we’re getting really excited to see the films, attend the after parties and catch up (yeah, we went there) with our favourite A-listers. We’ll be reporting from the red carpet all weekend long—check out our insider’s guide to TIFF for more intel—but right now it’s time to talk beauty. No red carpet outfit is ever complete without an ultra glam hairstyle and glitzy makeup so what better time to practice your skills than now?

You may not have a team of makeup artists on standby, but you definitely don’t need to look far for tips on how to to do it yourself at home. This week, we asked the Beauty Panel to share their tips and tricks on how to attain the red carpet-worthy look. From voluminous hairstyles to statement lips, you’ll definitely get heads turning as you make your way down the red carpet. Not in Toronto for the film festival? Fear not because these foolproof beauty inspirations will work for any upcoming formal event or party scheduled in your planner.

Challenge 26: What’s your TIFF-worthy red carpet beauty look? See the answers now! »

With September rolling in this (long) weekend, it might be time to finally admit that summer is coming to an end. It’s time to say goodbye to our favourite warm weather-inspired beauty trends and embrace what fall has to offer. Spring’s bright lipsticks and summer’s superfluous bronzer will be dearly missed, but with the fall beauty guide out, our anticipation to try the ombre lips of Christian Dior, the fluffy hair of Marc by Marc Jacobs and the divine red eyeshadow of Gucci is at an all time high. There is no question that this fall it’s all about being bold.

But if you’re not a drop-everything-and-go-for-it kinda gal, the best way to test out a new fall trend is to ease your way in. Which means keeping some of your spring and summer favourites going strong as the seasons change. To help with the transition, we asked the Beauty Panel to share which summer styles they’re keeping into fall and how they’re making it work.

Challenge 25: How do you transition your summer hair and makeup into fall? See the answers now! »