Makeup Brushes to die for

I show you to the left the best travel case of brushes I've ever purchased, by what I quickly found out were made by one of the greatest brush makers of all time.

Japonesque

I feel the need to italicize that, as though I'm saying it in a very french Viola! kind of fashion. First of all, the travel kit I show you on the side is the perfect size for your purse, all while keeping those precious brushes protected. You can see there is a small face brush for blush or for a powder touchup. A puffy eye-shadow brush, and a smaller defining puffy shadow brush are great for on the go, a pointy brush that's great for wetlining or lips, and a flat soft cover brush... good for either eyes, or touching up those blemishes.

$17 at Ulta

Those are great for travel, or just for anytime... but you want the professional brushes? Check out their website for a brush to accommodate every wish you have for your makeup application. Their brushes are soft, smooth, well made, don't shed, and I can pretty much make the promise that they are the last brushes you'll ever need!

Smaller Pores are impossible - until now

I've been told over and over again that your pores are the size they are, and that's that. There's no changing the size and if they look big, then deal with it.

Until now.

Bare Escentuals introduced "Rare Minerals" and women's faces have never been the same. This was extensively studied by the Bare Escentuals team, and the results are in.

Within 23 days, skin cells turned over and shed off at 35% faster rate than usual - that will help you with your dry flakey skin leaving your new skin beautiful and soft. And after 8 weeks of nightly use? The diameter of the pore opening was smaller by 57%.

So no, you can't change the size of the pore, but that big hole in your face can be smaller.

It comes in a very handy casing, that with a twist of the bottom opens up the minerals into the sponge in the top. Just twist the bottom, and dab across your face before bed.

And it really works.

The most interesting fact about Rare Minerals to me was that the minerals come from untouched soil. Bare Escentuals somewhere found dirt to extract the minerals from that hasn't been touched by human hands. You are getting the purest of the pure on your face, and natural ingredients - nothing lab created.

Need I say more? Well, no, but I will...

During the clinical study, not only was the hard proof there, but when asked their opinion:
89% felt their skin was firmer and more resilient
85% felt their skin texture had improved
83% saw fewer imperfections and less visible pores
82% Saw clearer skin
81% saw fewer discolorations
80% agreed their skin felt healthier and renewed
75% agreed their skin appeared to glow and looked more radiant
68% saw a reduction of facial lines and wrinkles (including my mother)

$60 at rareminerals.com

Why Chanel Remains One of the Classiest Names

The name is intimidating... Chanels "Precision Eclat Originel Radiance Revealing Serum". They probably came up with the name that was impressive enough to fit the product itself.

Because the product itself is a godsend for your skin. It has a slight sheen to it, so upon wearing it for the day, your skin looks more radiant than ever.

But that's not the magic at all. This serum oxygenates your skin, works itself into each layer and somehow magically after continued use each day makes your skin start to sparkle without it.

I used the serum daily like the Chanel counter told me to for about 2 weeks. It has an incredible silky feel that added moisture to my skin, but never felt sticky. It's light, and never felt like my face was weighed down. And you only need the size of a pea to cover your entire face.

After 2 weeks, my skin looked different. The Chanel link I'll provide explains scientifically how it works, but in the easiest terms possible, this Serum makes your skin younger, softer, and brighter than ever.

It's a little pricey (isn't everything Chanel that way) - but with the price tag comes at least 3-6 months of use, if not daily, then every other day or so. And once you've worked this into your skin, you'll find you need it only every few days.

$65 at Chanel.com

The Brilliance of Eye Primer

It took years of reapplying my eyeshadow and desperately trying to smear it around once it's all gathered into the folds of my eyelids before I found Urban Decay's Eye Primer Potion.

It's easy to take with you, but you won't have to. Just slab on a dab with the handy wand (that could be handier - maybe a brush?) and then take your finger and smear it around (hence the need for a brush) spreading it out, and working it into the skin.

Apply your eyeshadow like normal, and voila! Your eyeshadow will be stuck in it's place practically until you take a pummice stone to it!

OK, that's an exaggeration. But you get the point.

My only bit of advice is that it takes some getting used to. Typically you can really control your eyeshadow application by using your brush to blend, darken, lighten, etc. With Urban Decays Eye Primer, less is more. Add as you see fit, because once it's on your lid, it's not going anywhere. No amount of spreading around will lessen a dark application.

Still, the best of eye primers I've used, and fairly cheap!

$15 at Urban Decay

For the most amazing Brows

It could quite possibly be one of the more brilliant inventions from Anastasia, who is famous for their brow products. A kit that includes all the things you need for flawless brows, as well as... Stencils!

How many times do you sit and tweeze or wax and realize you're just a little off on one side, so you even out on the other side only to realize you're now off on that side until you're tweezing away the last of your hairs.

With this kit by Anastasia, who has always specialized in brows, you place the stencil you like (High Arch, Slim High Arch, Medium Arch or Petite Arch) against your natural brow. You color in the stencil, then tweeze or wax all the hairs that are not colored in. It's absolutely brilliant, so brilliant, some of the biggest spa's and salons are using stencils now.

After you've finished, you can brush a little more color onto the hairs that are left to make your brows stand out. Then take the "Stay Put Brows" gel with the wand and sweep the brows into shape where they will stay for the rest of the day.

Not only is the kit itself absolutely brilliant, but everything you need is placed into a clever, cute little canvas carrying case. I say clever, because everything has it's place, including a little attached mesh bag for your brow color pot.

It comes in different colors to match your hair, and each of those kits have two colors to compliment your complexion and hair color, or even layer to create a color with more depth.

$65 at Anastasia.net


And as long as we're talking about tweezing and waxing to death, you know that after all these years, your hair doesn't grow as well, so reshaping your brow can be a challenge. I know that for years I always did a semi circle brow, and over the last few years an Arch has been the hot style. Yes, there are hot styles of brows.

To reshape, you need to grow in those stubborn hairs that you've been tweezing since you were 13, and trust me, they do NOT want to come back simply to be plucked out again - or so they think. That's where Osmotics Cosmeceuticals comes in.

I know, you never ever thought you would spend money to GROW hair back - you usually spend so much money to get rid of it! But what about making your eyelashes fuller and longer! What about the reshaping of those brows I mentioned? Osmotics has a 28-day kit called Nutrilash, and with the flick of the stick you have a cream seeping into a cotton swab that looks a lot like a syringe the way it works - cleverly done.

Wipe the cotton swab along your brows, and work some into them as well. Then take the same swab and wipe it along your eye lashes. In 14 days, your hair follicles will be refreshed and ready to push out long luxurious eyelashes, and those timid hairs around your brows.

$38 at Osmotics.com