Runway shows are renowned for looking just a bit off. I mean, do you ever watch these shows and think, “Oh, I would love to wear that”?

Scratch that. Some things I would definitely wear.

What about the makeup? Sometimes it’s lovely, sometimes it’s hideous. Think you can pull it off?

Could You Pull Off These Runway Looks?

Five real women wear high fashion makeup — for a day in their cubes

We love to gawk at runway models’ hair and makeup, but how much of it is actually stuff us “normal people” could wear? We put the looks through the test as our brave volunteers try out fashion-show makeup at work. See the looks - and the hilarious reactions they got. View the looks

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A few days ago, I showed you 5 beauty gifts under $15.  It IS the holiday season after all.

But, what if you aren’t trying to save money this season?  What if you have a bunch of money to burn?  And you want to spend it on your friends who like beauty and makeup stuff?

Fear not.  I have the solution.  Here are 5 extravagant beauty and makeup gifts over $50:

1. Perfectionist Power Correcting Patch by Estee Lauder, $100.00
   
   For the ladies on your list that have wizened with age, try the Estee Lauder Perfectionist Power Correcting Patch.  This package comes with 8 patches for 4 separate treatments.  Keep the patches over the eyes for 20 minutes and you’ll see a drastic reduction in deep wrinkles.
2. Cellular Luxe Lip Color by La Prairie, $55.00
   Lip stick with Caviar in it?  Sure, why not?  La Prairie is famous for using caviar (fish eggs) extract into their beauty and cosmetics line.  It’s even in this lipstick.  Although, you have to admit, it comes in some beautiful colors!
3. Organic Creative Eye Color System by Nvey Eco, $61.00
   There are two reasons that this compact is so good.  1. It’s organic!  2.  It has great colors!  After all, plum is in right now.  And so is organic food and products.  Besides this lovely plum pallet (codename: 4), they have many other themed pallets for you to choose from.



4. Master Brush Set by Laura Mercier, $250.00
   Now this is truly extravagant.  This brush set contains 8 makeup brushes and a faux lizard zippered case.  The Laura Mercier brush set consists of an angled eye colour, camouflage powder, cheek colour, eye color, flat eye liner, powder, secret camouflage and smudge brushes.  Believe me, you see a drastic difference when you use a really nice makeup brush.
5. Juicy Loves Sephora Hard Train Case, $348.00
   Juicy Couture teams up with makeup-seller Sephora to bring you this beautiful train case.  The big plight for makeup lovers is storage.  If you get your friend this lovely case, full of many drawers and pockets for all of her products, she’ll be travelling in style.  Now her makeup storage problems will be solved!

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Times are tough.  Economically, anyway.  And that means that the holidays are going to be low-budget for a lot of people this year.

That doesn’t mean that you have to avoid buying presents for people, though.  There are all sorts of makeup and beauty items that are inexpensive and still great.

Here are the top 5 beauty presents you can find, all for under $15.

1. Mr. Butterball Bath Bomb by Lush, $3.95
   Got a friend that just needs to relax?  Get her the Mr. Butterball Bath Bomb.  This fizzing bath treat in the shape of a snowman smells of rich vanilla.  As it fizzes away, balls of cocoa butter soften up the bath water, smoothing out her skin.
2. Shimmer Pots by Sephora, $8.00
   Nothing beats a little shimmer on your lids.  These Sephora Shimmer Pots come in three different colors: copper (pictured), white and black.  They also have an eye primer pot for the same price.  Your friend can dust this over her regular eye shadow to bring her look from day to night.
3. The Colossal Volum’ Express Mascara by Maybelline, ~$5.99
   Honestly, nothing beats The Colossal.  It’s the best mascara I’ve tried and your beauty pal will surely love it.  This mascara comes in two shades of black: Glam Black and Classic Black.  Now she’s ready for a night on the town!



4. Play ‘Til Midnight Nail Polish by OPI, ~$8.50
   
   Dark nail polish has been the trend for years, and it doesn’t seem to be letting up.  Play ‘Til Midnight is a great shimmery dark blue nail color.  With OPI, you know you’re giving high quality polish for the holidays.
5. I Taste Like Sugar Mini Lip Gloss Set by Sugar Cosmetics, ~$14.00
   Nice glossy finish?  Check.  Yummy sugar cookie flavoring?  Check.  Loads of options?  Check.  The I Taste Like Sugar gloss set comes with 12 different glosses in many different colors.  Sets like these make great gifts because your friend is bound to like at least one of the glosses.

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Ahh, the holidays.  No matter what holiday you celebrate, this is the time of year where it’s all about showing your friends and family how much you care.

And that comes in the form of presents.  Monday, I showed you how to ask for the makeup you want.  Today, I’ll show you some awesome gift ideas for those in your life that love makeup and beauty.

Makeup Pallets and Gift Sets

Nothing says ‘I love you’ like a whole slew of makeup.  Try these great options:

Smashbox Ultimate Beauty Palette, $59.00 (more…)

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Have you ever gotten makeup as a present and it just wasn’t right?  This happens to those of us that have a real fondness for beauty products.  Our friends and relatives think, ‘hey, she likes makeup, I’ll get her this.’  While the thought is definitely there, you may end up with something you don’t really like.

Here are some tips for asking for makeup this holiday season:

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Happy Halloween, everyone!

If you’re like me, you didn’t plan a Halloween costume.  Here are some last minute makeup ideas to help you look ghoulish (or insanely beautiful.  You decide.)

Halloween Makeup: Zombie

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Most of us learned how to do our makeup from someone or something else.  Our moms showed us techniques, or we learned a thing or two from a beauty magazine.  Now that most of us are adults, and media has changed (hello, internet), how has this affected how you learn new techniques?

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Personally, I get my inspiration from a few places:

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What kind of makeup do you wear when you vote early for the US presidential elections?  I don’t know about you, but I did some sunrise eyes.  I guess I wanted to do something sunny and warm and optimistic.

Take a gander:

This is one of my favorite looks, and I hadn’t done it in a while.  Today seems like as good a day as any.

Here’s the products and techniques I used:

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The American economy has really been an issue lately.  It seems to be affecting everyone, including me.

Honestly, I haven’t bought much lately, save for a tub of Vaseline (yes, that’s a beauty purchase.)  Last spring, I was buying all sorts of makeup.  That’s when I got my first MAC stash.  Now, with money the way it is, I haven’t been able to spend.

Yeah, makeup isn’t everything.  Sometimes though, you need to make regular purchases in order to feel normal again.

So, I ask you…

How is the economy affecting your makeup purchases?

Are you cutting back?  What have you had to sacrifice?

If you live outside of the US, has our crappy economy affected yours?

Tell us what you think!

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I actually got this mascara by accident.  Or rather, my mom did.  Kind of.

You see, she tried my Maybelline the Colossal Volum’ Express Mascara and really liked it.  The only problem was that she wanted waterproof, and the Colossal doesn’t come that way.

So she went to our local drug store, Walgreens, and saw the Cover Girl LashBlast Volume Blasting Waterproof Mascara sitting right next to the Colossal.  And it was waterproof!  So she thought it must be by the same brand.  After all, they both have super fat packaging.

Of course, it wasn’t the same brand.  One is Maybelline and one is Cover Girl.  In the end, she gave the mascara to me.  She thought she might have had an allergic reaction, so keep that in mind for all you ladies who have sensitive eyes.

So how does this new mascara stack up?  You can find this at your local drug store for about $7.99.  This version is in “Very Black”.

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