New NARS Concealer Giveaway Contest

You've seen the new NARS Concealer on all the blogs. Now you can enter to win one here! This lightweight, creamy, long-wearing concealer is the latest innovation from NARS. Many of the makeup artists I know want one.

NARS Concealer brilliantly obscures imperfections and dark spots with a creamy, vitamin-rich formula that nourishes the skin. Its long-wearing, crease-resistant, and ultra-light yet opaque formula ensures a flawless finish. Use it alone or over foundation, and it will give you that flawless look we all desire.

Here's what the NARS test participants reported.

• 97% agree that the concealer has a smooth texture and felt soft on the skin.
• 93% agree that the concealer stays in place all day.
• 90% agree that the concealer blends easily.

On top of superb test results, it's formulated without parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, phthalates, GMOs, and triclosan. It does have the moisturizing and nourishing vitamin E. Who could resist?

I have one to give away, and the winner will be able to select the shade of her choice. There are 10 shades, from Chantilly (my shade) to the dark Cacao, so there's bound to be a perfect shade for your skin tone. Just visit NARS or Sephora to select your shade.

There are a few simple steps to enter this contest. First, all you really have to do is leave a comment on this feature telling us what shade you prefer. After you comment here, feel free to send me an e-mail at bestthingsinbeautycontests@gmail.com and identify your comment. You can never be too careful about sharing an e-mail address you care about on a blog, so feel free to follow this step (an alternative is to code your e-mail, e.g., myname at gmail dot com, in your comment).

You can earn extra entries. Follow this blog (through an e-mail subscription or though one of the many Google readers - see sidebar at right) to earn a second entry. You don't have to follow to enter. I want everyone to have a chance, but I also want to reward my followers. I must be able to track this entry. One easy way is to follow by e-mail subscription or to ensure that Best Things in Beauty is on your blog list if you have a Google account.

You can earn a third entry by tweeting this contest. Just make sure to include "@BTiBeauty" (without the quotes) and the contest title in your tweet and mention the giveaway title. I will tweet the contest this evening, and you can simply retweet it to earn that second entry. Only one tweet will be counted as an entry. I appreciate multiple tweets, but it's not necessary.

The deadline for entries will be Saturday, September 24, at midnight. The next day, I will use a random number generator (random.org) to select the winner. I will e-mail the winner on Sunday. The winner will have 48 hours to reply to my message and provide a shipping address. After 48 hours, the prize will be forfeited, and another winner will be selected. Make sure to check your e-mail - and look in your spam folder - when the contest ends.

This contest is open to anyone anywhere. Here are the terms. I will carefully pack and ship the prize (as I always do). I cannot insure the prize for overseas shipment - it's amazingly expensive to do so because of the way I have to send insured mail. If it's lost or stolen in transit, I won't be able to replace it with another. I'll do my best on this end; let's see if your mail service does right by you on the other end if we have an overseas winner. Lately, my shipping luck has improved significantly.

Good luck!

Photo courtesy of Sephora

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Boo-Boo Cover-Up, the Beautiful Way to Heal

Here's a unique product for you! Boo-Boo Cover-Up ($19.99) is an innovative concealer that is loaded with natural healing ingredients (aloe, chamomile, green tea, tea tree oil, and vitamin E) to conceal while you heal. You can use it in place of a Band-Aid. It's so much better looking! You can also use it as a comforting facial concealer - everywhere except the immediate eye area.

While the name sounds young, women of all ages have temporary or permanent imperfections. As we age, it takes longer for cuts to heal, making Boo-Boo Cover-Up a great option. It’s the first of its kind and perfect for summer when we bare more flesh. It was developed for the body (longer lasting, less transferring, more waterproof, and a little thicker than typical concealers), but is safe for the face. You can use it to cover acne, sun spots, cuts, bruises, and more.

Brandy Jans came up with the idea when she went to buy Neosporin for hideous bug bites on her legs. She knew that concealing and healing had to go together. She had formerly worked in product development for some of the largest specialty personal care companies in the U.S., so she had the experience to develop her own product. After more than a year of planning and development, she took the leap and recently had a "soft launch" of Boo-Boo on Amazon.

To use Boo-Boo Cover-Up, just dot it onto the area you want to cover. It comes in a single, universal medium shade that works for me and should work for most of you. Even so, light and dark shades will be launched later this year. There's no sense in trying to show you a swatch. It's intended to blend into the skin, and it does. I've been testing it on my face. It minimizes my darkest sun spots (the two that look like freckles), without being cakey or pasty the way some seriously effective cover-ups can be. It makes the lighter ones disappear. I think it's pretty cool.

Each ingredient in Boo-Boo was selected to give the product its antibacterial, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and cell-renewing properties. Burn your neck with a curling iron now and then? I have. I'll have Boo-Boo at the ready next time. I haven't had any bug bites to cover since Brandy sent me Boo-Boo (gratis), but I'm ready for any little injury to my skin. Will you be? For a small investment, you'll have enough healing Boo-Boo to last for years!

Boo-Boo Cover-Up is available at Amazon and Soap.com.

Photo courtesy of Boo-Boo Cover-Up

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TEMPTU Undereye Concealer

I have read so many glowing reviews of TEMPTU's Undereye Concealer ($28), I finally ordered one from Sephora. Am I glad I did! It is rave-worthy.

The diamond core effectively diffuses the appearance of lines, dark circles, and any other discoloration to impart a bright, radiant, and light-reflecting look. On top of the cosmetic value, TEMPTU's Undereye Concealer is packed with vitamins A, C, E, and K, which work alongside cucumber and aloe to moisturize and smooth delicate skin, fight signs of aging, and revive tired eyes.

The concealer has a creamy consistency and applies and blends like a dream - even though it's oil-free. TEMPTU did some great lab work in achieving the creamy consistency. I've studied the ingredient list and see many hydrating and protective ingredients - nice mix. I am slightly concerned (a personal issue) about the retinyl palmitate in it. My skin is extremely sensitive to retinyl palmitate. I haven't had any immediate reactions to it - and I usually do with retinyl palmitate. Because retinyl palmitate is far down in the ingredient list, I'm hoping there's not enough in an application to make my skin complain. On the nice side, there are no parabens, sulfates, or phthalates in this concealer.

I had to guess on my color selection. Knowing that online swatches can be a "roll of the dice," I chose #104, Fair. There are eight shades - a thoughtful range. The lightest shade is #102, Porcelain. Since I wouldn't call my skin porcelain, I went with Fair, and it matches perfectly. That was a pleasant surprise.

You can purchase TEMPTU Undereye Concealer from Sephora or TEMPTU. After I purchased mine, I found that TEMPTU's site has the best color swatches.

Photo courtesy of Sephora

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Josie Maran Argan Blend Concealer

New for Spring 2011, Josie Maran's two-shade Argan Blend Concealer ($28) provides long-lasting, repairing coverage that hides imperfections while hydrating the skin with Josie’s signature ingredient, organic argan oil. The dual shades are intended to work together to correct and conceal flaws and highlight skin tone, helping women address the appearance of lines, wrinkles, and discoloration, while concealing dark circles, blemishes, age spots, and redness.

You probably know that argan oil - a hot skin care and hair care ingredient - is produced from the argan tree from Morocco. The oil is rich in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, which have anti-aging properties. This organic ingredient is known to help and prevent dehydration, inflammation, hyperpigmentation, and sebum production. It's the basis for Josie Maran's fabulous line of beauty products, many of which I love.

Argan Blend Concealer is a very nice, creamy, long-lasting concealer. I have only one problem with it. The lightest color duo is too dark for my skin. It's available in three color combinations, Sand (light), Suede (medium), and Chestnut (dark). I purchased Sand from Sephora online.

The concealer duo has two shades, one yellow-based and one pink-based. You can use them alone or mix them - theoretically to customize a shade that's perfect for your skin tone or the place on your face where you need concealer. With Sand, both shades are too dark for my skin, and they are no lighter when mixed.

It's not going to be easy for you to see that in my swatch photo. I applied the shades with a sponge-tipped applicator to try to show the shades adequately. At the top - if you can see it at all - is the yellow-toned shade. The pink one is in the middle. A mixture of the two is shown at the bottom. My photo was taken in full sun. The yellow shade is very yellow. The pink one is very pink - almost unnatural. Mixed, they are no better on my skin.

It's really too bad because I like the texture, consistency, and blendability of this concealer. I prefer concealers that are just slightly lighter than my own skin tone because they brighten while they conceal. When a concealer is too dark, it draws attention to the areas I'm trying to conceal, making them look muddy. I wish Josie Maran had introduced a color that would work for us extremely fair types.

If you are interested in Argan Blend Concealer, don't buy it online, sight unseen like I did. Go to Sephora and test it to make sure one of the three shade duos will work for you. You can also order Argan Blend Concealer online from Josie Maran's own Web site.

Photo at top courtesy of Josie Maran

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