Retrodiva’s Top Ten Bronzers

1. Bronze of Champions by Benefit Cosmetics: this is the ultimate for bronze lovers. It includes Watt’s Up! Soft Focus Highlighter for Face, Creaseless Cream Shadow in Bikini-Tini, Longwear Powder Shadow in Thanks A Latte, Hoola Bronzing Powder, Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in Hoola, and They’re Real! Beyond Mascara. Exclusively at Sephora.
2. Aura Bronzing Gel by Mehron Cosmetics: This lightweight gel can be used on it’s own or over makeup. Serious illumination along with a healthy glow.
3. Physicians Formula Bronze Booster Glow-Boosting Shimmer Bronzer: The packaging is adorable, and the formula is superior.
4. Park Avenue Princess Bronze & Glow Matte Bronzer & Cheek Tint: I love this because it’s a great multi-tasker. Bronzer and cheek color in one small tube!
5. tarte Rainforest Glow Waterproof Tinted Body Perfector: this is temporary color, but it’s waterproof, so you won’t have any meltdowns (literally!)
6. Cargo Bronzer: this was my first bronzer, and will always be a favorite.
7. Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Powder Bronzer: it’s been reformulated recently, but I liked the touch of pink.
8. Sephora Collection Illuminating Bronzing Oil: perfect for after the beach, and it has a wonderful tropical floral fragrance – not too sweet.
9. Maybelline Mineral Power Bronzer: I don’t think this is around anymore, but this liquid is perfect to add to your regular foundation for a quick glow.
10. Ruby Kisses All Over Glow Bronzing Cream: I’ve loved this for a very long time!

Shop it all here:

Some of these items were press samples, others were purchased by me.

The key to this product is the super cool brush. The flared out ends grab more of the smaller hairs on the inner and outer corners of the eye, giving you more noticeable lashes. I will say that I’ve seen a lot of mascaras try and do this trick without much success, but this brush seems to be different – it does a great job of grabbing those little hairs.

The formula is definitely on the thick side, and is meant to be used for dramatic eye looks. Most people will love one coat, but there are others like me, who just have to take it to the limit and pile on three coats. Whatever you do, make sure you have an eyelash comb/brush to brush out any clumps.

I didn’t have any weird flaking or raccoon eye issues at all. It stayed put until I took it off.

Cover Girl’s Flamed Out Mascara is $5.99 at Target.

Press sample.

But there is a happy ending! I found it recently, and decided to give it a whirl. This is a seriously good mascara, further reinforcing my opinion that there are so many good drugstore mascaras now, that you should only need to purchase an expensive one because you want to. Not because they are just so much better.

The wand is kind of weird, but not necessarily in a bad way. It’s kind of wobbly – not really sure how or why, but it has a lot of give to it, which actually makes getting all those small lashes much easier. The full brush is pretty much idiot-proof – you won’t struggle with clumping, and the formula is excellent. I didn’t experience any flaking or smudging (I hate it when I look like a raccoon at the end of the day – or night), and it didn’t wear away into nothing in an hour.

A very solid mascara, and I would absolutely purchase it again. This is my first Maybelline mascara in quite awhile, and I’m really glad that they are moving beyond Great Lash, because I never understood the love for that formula at all (go ahead and throw tomatoes, but I’m not afraid to say it – that formula is crap on me).

Grab a tube of Volum’ Express Mega Plus mascara (I chose blackest black, of course, but it comes in black and black-brown) at any major retailer. It will set you back, at most, about $6. If you’re lucky, you’ll find it at Target in a bonus double pack!

Product purchased by me.

Coupons.com gave me a $50 to Sephora and told me to create a look! We all know how easy it is to spend $50 on Sephora, so I had to focus. I ended up choosing the Too Faced Boudoir Eyes Palette. It takes nine subtly smokey shadows and teams them up in easy-to-re-create looks. 

There are three included step-by-step looks, and I created the Classic and Fashion looks. They were super easy to do, and the colors are gorgeous.

Classic look

The Classic look is perfect for day wear, as it’s not glittery, too shimmery, or too bright. It’s more subdued than the Fashion look.

To get the Classic look:

• Start with an eye primer (Too Faced Shadow Insurance is supposed to be fab), and apply it all over the lid.
• Apply Satin Sheets, a lightly shimmery neutral, from lash to brow with a fluffy eyeshadow brush (I like Vincent Longo’s Large Eyeshadow Brush).
• Next, sweep Sugar Walls onto lid, crease, and around the tear duct. I used a small smudge brush to get it around my tear duct, and it was perfect (Sephora’s Smudge Brush).
• Smoke out the eyes with the darkest shade in the row, Garter Belt. Line under the eye and on the upper lash line, and blend outward. Bring it to a point in the outer corner of your eye.

Fashion look

The Fashion look is perfect for evening, and you can build on the colors to achieve the intensity that you want.

To get the Fashion Look:

• Start with primer all over the eyelid.
• Apply Birthday Suit all over the lid, from lash line to brow bone.
• Blend Lap Dance into the crease and into the lid. A specialized crease brush like Hourglass’ Crease Brush #4 really helps with this.
• Apply French Tickler, the darkest shade, to the upper lash line and extend outward.
• Blend French Tickler into the lower lash line, and be sure to smoke it out by blending outward.

Shop the post here:

Now for the good part! All of the beauty bloggers that took the $50 challenge are hosting a big giveaway. Check out all the blogs here:

And to enter the giveaway, just wait for the Rafflecopter code to load. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

First, let me say that these eye shadows are AMAZING. They are so easy to work with and highly pigmented. You can build color easily, and blending is a dream. Included are three different looks that are super easy to recreate, and I picked the “R Rated” look to wear out. Following the steps is pretty much idiot-proof, and I’ll break it down for you here:

1. Apply the champagne-colored primer over the entire eye. This has a bit of shimmer to it, and it’s creamy. Use your concealer brush (in the spirit of the palette, try Kat Von D’s Concealer Brush) and prime that eyelid up.
2. Apply Blue Angel eyeshadow on entire lid, and up through the crease. You will want to create depth at the outer corners by applying more shadow there.
3. Take the included black pencil eyeliner and line right at the lash line. Use a heavy hand here – we didn’t skimp on our black eyeliner in the 80s. Smudge it out after you get it on.
4. Take an angled shadow brush (I like mine to be small and somewhat stiff – not as stiff as an eyebrow brush, but you get the idea – try the Sonia Kashuk Angled Eye Shadow Brush) and apply the Cauldron Smoke gray color to your smudged eyeliner. Blend upwards on your lid and downwards on your lower lash line to create a smoky eye.
5. Using a clean shadow brush, apply the Hot Hot Pink to the inner corner of your eyes, and blend out to the middle of the lid. I also applied it on the inner corner of my lower lash lines too, just for fun.
6. Blend, and then blend more. Apply more color as needed. Then blend again. Seriously.
7. Apply three coats of a nice thick mascara, like Cover Girl’s Professional Super Thick Lash Mascara.

Overall, I love this palette. The colors are wild and fun, it’s a vegan and cruelty-free formula, and the price is right. It looks as if they have changed the palette a bit by adding some new colors, lashes, and lip colors.

Manic Panic Total Look Kit, Sooo 80′s, $19.47 at Amazon.com.

Affiliate links. All products purchased by me.