Budget Beauty

freshMinerals Super Volume Mascara, $10.00, freshmineralsusa.com

The Budget Babe's beauty expert Kiki Bella reviews a new mascara, compliments of freshMinerals. —TBB



by Kiki Bella
Here's a fantastic product that works well and looks great: Super Volume Mascara by Fresh Minerals. First off, this mascara just looks super cool. It comes in a sleek metallic tapered tube that has a great feel to it. It will definitely make any makeup bag a little prettier. The mascara itself also is fantastic. It goes on well and has amazing, no-clump abilities. My lashes looked like they were scared to go near each other, it separated them so well! Beautiful rich color, easy to get off (yet didn't smudge)—a definite pick-up.

Learn more about freshMinerals makeup at freshmineralsusa.com.

Prai Beauty’'s Scent of a Woman Eau de Parfum Purse Spray is the Steal of the Week on BeautyTicket.com from October 25-31, 2009 as part of their ongoing Breast Cancer Awareness promotions. Regularly priced at $25, it's now just $7.99 for one week only. As an added bonus, Prai Beauty will donate 10% off all Steal of the Week sales on BeautyTicket.com to BreastCancer.org. Support a great cause and smell good while you're at it!

For every purchase made using the code “AWARENESS” at checkout, BeautyTicket.com will donate 10% to BreastCancer.org and U.S. customers will receive free shipping on orders of $50 or more.

For 48 hours, take an extra 20% off all skincare at beautyticket.com. Use code SKINCARE20. Expires 10/17/09.

freshMinerals Kick Start Mini Starter Kit, $20, freshmineralsusa.com

The Budget Babe's resident beauty expert Kiki Bella reviews a miniature mineral makeup kit that's great for beginners. —BB



by Kiki Bella
Angela from freshMinerals recently sent me a complimentary freshMinerals Kick Start Mini Starter Kit, which comes in a cute little box (doubles as storage, not just for tossing) and includes primer, mineral duo loose powder foundation and a kabuki brush. I put the product to the test, and thought the mineral powder foundation works nicely, and the kabuki brush is soft and well made. My favorite part of this kit, however, is the awesome Smoothing Prep Primer. If you've never tried a primer, you are in for a treat. It glides on so smoothly you can't even tell its there, but it creates a perfect base for your makeup to look even and flawless. I think this is a great kit, and an excellent way to get into mineral makeup without dropping a huge chunk of change all at once.

You can learn more about freshMinerals makeup at freshmineralsusa.com

In an ideal world, we'd all have healthy, strong, natural nails. The Budget Babe's beauty pro Kiki Bella reviews what might just be the next best thing. —BB



by Kiki Bella
It's not news to anyone that the nail industry is big business. With a salon on every street it's pretty obvious that women (and many men) think a lot about how their nails look. Some, like myself, limit this to playing with color and doing at-home manis and pedis, while others take their nail beauty pretty seriously. Getting your own nails done (clipped, filed, painted) at a salon can be costly, but not nearly as costly as getting faux nails put on, which are more lovingly referred to as acrylics. A full set of acrylics (or gels, or whatever your salon does) can cost upwards of fifty dollars. They do last, and they can look pretty fierce. I personally have had an acrylic set more then once in my life, each time during my high school years. Are they worth it though?

My personal opinion is that they really aren't. They have a certain appeal, undoubtedly, but when weighing the pros and cons of this beauty ritual, my scale seems to be tipping to the no…

While one could argue against acrylic sets on many different levels (think green, all the chemicals involved wreaking havoc on the environment; think health, breathing in the toxic fumes while getting them done, which can take an hour at least; think nail damage, once you start it's hard to stop since the nail underneath has been filed down to make the acrylic nail on top look more "natural" and flush with the finger). Let's approach this instead economically: It's just really freaking expensive, ladies! You have to get a set (say $50 at a top salon) to start, and then get the set "filled" (about $20) as the nail grows out, let's say every two weeks so you don't look like a hot mess. Then repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, get a new set, repeat, repeat, repeat… you get the idea. This is money you could be using someplace else. New shoes, for instance. (cont. below)

Continue reading "Beauty Review: Revlon Runway ... »