| Which cheapies are as good as the high-end products? |
 We asked Lesley Bride, senior scientist at Procter & Gamble Beauty, and Fritz Clay, owner of Hair Play Salon in San Francisco, to compare similar products and say which are so close, you might as well save -- and which are worth the splurge. The results will surprise you. |
Beauty Bubbles: Luxe vs. Less Hair Care
Special Offer from Ouidad for My Cali Girl Readers
If you are near the Santa Monica Ouidad salon, be sure to take advantage of this amazing offer!
Book a "Carve and Slice" haircut and receive a signature Deep Treatment for free. That's a $90 value! And I'm told that it really brings your hair to life! Print out this email and bring it in with you to take advantage of this fantastic offer. Good only at the Santa Monica salon, unfortunately.
For those of you who aren't familiar, Ouidad is geared towards helping us curly-haired girls make the most out of our curls.
If you take advantage of the Deep Treatment, be sure to drop me a line and let me know if you liked it.
What I Want Now: Too Faced LockDown Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow
Too Faced's LockDown cream shadow makes some promises that are just too good for me to pass up. Touted as a primer and eyeshadow in one, that alone is enough to make me want to run to the makeup counter to give it a try. But then to tell me that it's creaseless? And give me these amazing shades?
Sign me up. Right now. Especially the I'm Guilty shade. How fun is that?
Here are some tips from Jerrod Blandino, founder and Creative Director of Too Faced:
- Squeeze a tiny pearl size drop of Lockdown to your finger and apply directly to the eye. You will have about 60 seconds to smooth out your look before it magically locks down!
- Use any Lockdown as a base to one of your favorite eye colors.
- Use any Lockdown color as an instant eyeliner! Using a flat tipped brush, push color down across the lash line and onto the lid. Complete your look by applying Lash Injection Mascara for full glam lash potential!
Have you tried Lockdown? Do you love it? Tell me about it, so I can head to the counter with confidence.
Win a Makeover When You Try Bausch & Lomb Multi-Focal Lenses
I don't need reading glasses (yet, but ladies, let me tell you, my time is coming, and it's coming soon), but I had to tell you about this fun contest they are running at GoodbyeReaders.com.
Try a pair of the new Multi-Focal lenses and you could win a year's supply of lenses (which, as a contact lens wearer, I can tell you is a huge boon), a personal style and color consultation with Visual Therapy, and a signed copy of their book Life in Color: The Visual Therapy Guide to the Perfect Palette--for Fashion, Beauty, and You!
Pop on over to GoodbyeReaders.com for more information and your chance to win. Good luck!
Beauty Bubbles: 20 Best Heat Styling Creams, Mousses, and Sprays
| Don't use a blow-dryer or flatiron before applying one of these products |
 Stop damaging your hair! If you heat style often you must use a product that protects your hair. Try these gels, sprays and creams that our readers say keep their hair healthy. |
Need Another Social Networking Site in Your Life?
BeautyStat.com is a newcomer to the scene. If you're a product recommendation junkie like I am, you may want to check it out.
You can fill out a personal profile that helps you to identify products that might be right for you, you can browse reviews, videos, and industry insider information.
Some other member benefits:
• Members can connect with others from all over the country who give honest opinions on beauty products that have worked (or not!) for them.
• Members can stay informed on why others are feeling beautiful with the Twitter-like feature called “Right Now”.
• Members can get information on beauty product discounts and special promotions.
• Members can purchase many of their product recommendations from retailers that are linked to the site.
• Members can win gift certificates to beauty retailers and free product samples by inviting friends and answering survey questions in the site's "Voting Booth".
Sound like fun? Have more time to devote to online beauty? I don't know about myself, personally. I'm about social networked out. But I'd love to hear other people's thoughts.
Beauty Bubbles: Hair Removal 101
| Use our expert tricks to get your smoothest skin ever |
 Razor burn. Ingrown hairs. Those ouchy little nicks you get on your kneecaps. Does hair removal have to be such, like, medieval torture? Turns out no. So here's our guide to getting better results with shaving and alternative hair removal. |
YSL's Summer Collection Is Amazing
I am absolutely in love with the bold colors of this summer's YSL collection. Inspired by Africa, the eyeshadow palette called Tresor d'Afrique is my favorite of the bunch. It includes 5 shades: ivory, to be used as a base; turquoise, plum, and navy blue for definition, and toffee to brighten the arch area and bring warmth and contrast to the eyes.
Not to neglect the lashes, there is a limited edition Everlong Waterproof Lengthening Mascara called "Ever Peacock Blue," which, I am quite sure, is just gorgeous. What is unique about this formula, however, is that it contains eyelash conditioner - similar to what you can buy these days to boost the length and overall growth of your lashes.
Also in this collection are two beautiful sheer lipstick shade, a Tresor d'Afrique Sun Powder (also limited edition), which is a bronzer, and the Touche Eclat Radiant Touch in "light peach." Makeup mavens everywhere seem to rave about the Touche Eclat, and after watching the videos on YSL's site, I have to say I'm intrigued. She looks flawless!
What do you think? Are you as anxious to get your hands on this gorgeous collection as I am?
Beauty Bubbles: Best and Worst of MAC Cosmetics
| Your shopping guide to this cult-fave makeup brand |
 Before you buy your next eyeshadow or makeup brush -- check out these unbiased reader reviews. They reveal that of all (and there are thousands) of the MAC products available, the brushes top every makeup-lovers list. But not all MAC products are perfect -- so be sure to steer clear of the ones on our readers' do-not-buy lists. |
| TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 6.0* |
 What you said: "It doesn't [have a] rich lather and it doesn't leave my skin feeling fresh. I guess it's ok for..." |
| TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 5.7* |
 What you said: "I figured since MAC has such great eyeshadows, they'd obviously have a great primer for them... WRONG!..." |
| TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 9.4* |
 What you said: "THE best eyeshadow I have ever used. I will never switch to another brand when it comes to..." |
Avoid Bad Decision Making When Having a Good Time
Hot on the heels of Saturday's Cocktails, I present to you one of the best iPhone apps ever.
Seriously.
Have you ever been guilty of having a few then engaging in drunk dialing and/or drunk texting? Yeah, me too. And it's never good. Enter The Bad Decision Blocker - Saving You From Yourself.
You set the person and the time you want to block them. During that time, you will not be able to see the contact, their numbers or their email addresses. When the block expires (at the date you set), they come back.
Genius, no? Grab it at 
.
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