Tag Archives: anastasia

beauty buys: anastasia baked highlighting brow kit

there’s just nothing i love so much as a multi-tasking beauty product.  i remember a frightening story about my first experience with makeup (wet ‘n wild liquid foundation, thank you very much) – i was convinced it could be used as eyeshadow and even lipstick.  yes, clearly, you should take your daughters to a cosmetic counter when they turn 13 so they never have to suffer as i did.  

now that i’m older…and hopefully wiser…i still love my multitaskers, though i’m a lot pickier about what it takes to make that category.  but ever since it arrived, this baked highlighting brow kit from anastasia beverly hills has been front and center in my makeup case.  the darker matte colors can be blended together to produce the perfect brow tinting shade – just cover with brow gel, and your brows are brooke shields perfect.  and the colors also work beautifully as eyeliners, with just a change of brush.  ditto for the trio of shimmery highlighting shades.  they’re great for brow highlighting, of course, but i’ve been using them as eyeshadows, and even facial highlighter (try it on cheekbones instead of bronzer!).  in fact, take that eyeliner brush and try the gold shimmer as a liner underneath your eye.  genius!

the kit even comes with a travel size of anastasia’s signature clear brow gel…so, unlike my wet ‘n wild fiasco, this little box really can do triple duty in your powder room.  pick it up for $32 at nordstrom, or online at anastasia’s website.

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happy last day of BCA month!

if you haven’t already done your part by buying something pink, i’m throwing you a bone.  the moment i tried a pair of anastasia tweezers, all of my others went out the window (okay, into the trash…i’m not looking for a lawsuit).  they are incredibly precise, incredibly strong, and just really the perfect tool for the job.  you can pick up this girly-girl version from nordstrom for a very reasonable $33 – your BCA purchase will be complete, and your conscience will be clear.  if that feels like a lot for tweezers, well honestly, when was the last time you replaced yours?  and was the result nearly as cute?  exactly.  plus, 50% of the price goes to charity…so really, they’re only $15 tweezers and $15 of good karma.

while you’re at it, snag anastasia’s fab new brow duality ($23).  one side is a shimmer highlighter (which i actually use as an eyeliner/shadow hybrid) and the other is a matte highlighter (which i use under my brows and on the inside corners of my eyes).  it’s my newest staple in my traveling makeup bag, and literally goes with me everywhere.  seriously, a must-try.

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asked and answered: the perfect brows

i recently received a question from a reader who’s about to go international – ooh la la! 

Dear Ms. SMC,

As I head out of the country it is unclear what sort of resourcing I will find in the brow waxing field once I arrive in Switzerland. Any product suggestions to help me keep the brows in check if I have to do it on my own?

~M

one of the worst parts about moving is having to find all new professionals to trust with your home, health and – most importantly – beauty.  it’s challenging enough stateside, but add a foreign element, and it’s downright frightening.

fortunately, this one’s an easy fix.  what you want is a brow kit from celebrated brow guru (yes, such a thing exists) anastasia beverly hills.  i’ve tried it, and i can tell you it’s as close to foolproof as DIY brow maintenance gets.  simply pick the right stencil for your brow shape, hold it over the brow, fill in the lines with brow powder, and tweeze anything outside the lines.  clean off the excess powder, use brow gel to put everything in its place, and add the highlighting pencil to make your arch look even more fabulous (my favorite part of the kit, by far – it’s fantastic!).  voila – perfect brows. 

all of the equipment you’ll need for the steps above is included in the sephora-exclusive brow kit from anastasia – it’ll feel like an investment at $75, but if you manage to skip 4-5 brow waxes, it pays for itself.  to be honest, i’d buy most of the products in the kit separately anyway, even if someone else was doing my waxing for me.  plus, i have to admit there’s some appeal to not leaving your brow shape completely to chance (or to the whim of your aesthetician).

i did find that i’m more partial to their stick-on stencils than i am to the sturdier, plastic stencils that come in the kit.  it can be a little tricky to hold the stencil still while you’re applying the powder, until you get the hang of things.

i hope that helps ease the transition, M – send us a postcard from switzerland (or better yet, a nice big piece of chocolate)!

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