Beauty and Fashion For the Fringe

There are so many cosmetic companies out there that either have products that look like they’d be great and after trying it, it’s disappointingly unoriginal. There are plenty of companies who claim their colors are so bright, XXX and you learn after trying them they either aren’t all they cracked up to be or have such shoddy business practices you don’t even want to buy their products. If my links on the sidebar aren’t enough, I’d like to introduce you (or possibly just provide a refresher) on some companies worth supporting that have makeup that is friendly to extreme, unique and subcultural styles. None of these companies test on animals (unless I’ve somehow been mislead, in that case please let me know) Most of the websites and products say right on them that they do not test on animals. Here is a list of companies that do not test on animals as well –http://www.caringconsumer.com/pdfs/companiesDontTest.pdf

And here’s another link,this one all makeup http://www.mymakeupmirror.com/MakeupWithoutCruelty.html

Another note on that, most of these brands I know don’t test on animals because it says so on the products I own from those companies. The rest I found out about online.

First off, some major cosmetic companies;

Too Faced- Their powder eye shadows are buttery-smooth and drenched with pigment. True to the color in the pan once on your skin. They make some really nice inexpensive palettes. Their eyelid primer, “Shadow Insurance” often referred to as TFSI on beauty blogs across the web is a must-have to make your shadows appear more vibrant & last longer without creasing or looking messy. Their glitter eyeliners are (In my opinion) some of the best you can buy if you want a very glittery line. Most glitter liners I’ve tried you have to layer like crazy to get a sparkly enough  line but these give you glitter-encrusted lids with 2-3 swipes. The Lash Injection mascara is on many makeup maven’s favorite-product lists. The liquif-eye liner transformer is a must have- it transforms any eyeshadow into a liner with this clear formula and eyeliner brush, I *love* it! You’ll never have to purchase a colored liner again. Of course they have plenty of other products but these are the ones that come to my mind first and we could be here all day if i keep going.

MAC- Self explanatory, right? I was actually never wowed by the way their products looked. I wasn’t interested at all until recently. I understood that everyone and their mommas (and their aunts, best friends, co-workers) were in love with all that is Mac but trips into the mac store had me feeling…meh. I finally picked up one of their pigments because it was a dupe of a too faced color I had been looking for and WHAM- I was a convert. With that one product, I finally saw the light. I am not obsessed yet but I did return soon thereafter for the shadow that was a close match to the pigment. I spent awhile swatching everything I could get my hands on.  I’m impressed by how vibrant their colors are. The loose pigments are all really amazing. They are so multi-dimensional and they aren’t that way by being stuffed with glitter. Everything about their products is high quality. If you can afford it, try replacing so-so brushes with MAC tools. Google mac brush reviews or even makeup tutorials for an idea of which brushes might suit your needs, or of course just go to a mac store.

Make Up For Ever-  Ok, This company consistently blows me away with product quality and their fearlessly bright colors. Do you pine after those cybergoth bright pink (or red, green etc) eyes? You know, the almost neon colors with black liner and super high brows?  This is a line that will help you get the look. They also have red, orange and yellows that aren’t dulled down to be more easily marketable like some other companies.  Their mattes, aqua creams, aqua color waterproof liners, crazy false lashes, star powders, all of it is just amazing! I’m in love with their face primer too, in case you didn’t see my review. (it’s just a few posts down)

Urban Decay- Another line that is probably self-explanatory. I know I’ve been in love with this company since I saw  a full-page ad for their nail polish in the early ’90’s.  A lot of their shadows have glittery and duo-chrome finishes. They have so many beautiful shadow shades I want almost all of them! They shadows are nicely pigmented and apply easily, though with the glittery ones you will probably have some glitter particles fall out onto your cheeks. My solution is just to do my eyes before my face makeup. If glitter isn’t your thing they now have a matte line, and also the deluxe shadows which are more of a satiny sheen, no glitter.I recommend the deluxe shadow palette. Their eye primer has attained holy-grail status, Urban Decay Primer Potion or UDPP as it’s called in the beauty blogs comes in three formulas and is one of the best eye primers available (IMO). I switch between the original and Eden formulas. Eden is yellow tinted and a little thicker than the whitish-clear original. Eden can be worn alone to color-correct your lids and give them a matte finish. They have a variety of liners available and their 24/7 pencils are a product I can’t live without. That is the best black pencil eyeliner I have ever used and I have tried plenty different kinds in the 14 years I’ve been wearing liner. The big fatty mascara is great for volume. Their lipsticks are popular, as are their face products. The De-slick oil control products are supposed to be amazing. Oil is something I struggle with and I look forward to trying those.

Kat Von D- Perfect for goth and rocker looks, Kat Von D’s palettes feature dark smoky colors and tattoo design packaging. The quality of the shadows is wonderful, they are smooth, buildable,  rich in pigment and blend easily. She mixes it up with different finishes featured in each palette so you can find your lid, crease & highlight colors all in one spot. A lot of her shadows work great as liners also. She has been coming out with new products lately including eye primer, concealer that claims to cover tattoos as well as dark circles and lip colors.

If the above products are a little out of your price range don’t fret, there are some drugstore brands that don’t shy away from bright colors and give decent bang for your buck.

Milani- I didn’t know anything about their stuff when I purchased my first shadow compact. It was called Runway eyes and had 6 shades of black fading to gray and silver. I was impressed with the pigmentation and how they retained the color when blended. It is a fantastic palette for smoky eye looks. Their eye quads are something I want one of each of. They feature four colors that can be used alone or together for an quick and easy look that requires no guesswork! Their singles in fun glittery finishes are like a drugstore competitor for Urban Decay.  The eyeliners are the best drugstore liners I have found, both pencil and liquid versions!

Nyx- The Eyeshadow trios come in fun, bright colors but the payoff varies. I’ve noticed the medium to dark colors are true to color whereas yellows, lime green, just lighter colors in general come out looking kind of sheer. I love their purple shadows the most! Their jumbo shadow sticks are a holy grail makeup base rivaling Mac’s paint pots. The colors most often used in internet makeup tutorials are “Black Bean” and “Milk”. I’m looking for someplace local that carries these as we speak !(type?) They offer a full-range of cosmetic products & are even the official makeup of RuPaul’s Drag Race the TV show! Their glitter liners are popular as are their lipsticks.

Rimmel- Sexy Curves Mascara is the best waterproof drugstore mascara I have found. I honestly don’t have any experience with their other products but I know people rave about the bronzer and blushes. It’s very inexpensive so check it out and experiment!

Well, I hope this was helpful. I realize that if you have a beauty blog, practically live at Sephora, have been into makeup for awhile, etc. That this isn’t going to be anything you don’t already know. That’s fine, I want to help people looking for makeup to compliment their alternative style that don’t already know where to look or want something new to try. I didn’t include links because all of these brands can be found  so easily using google or by checking in sephora or on sephora.com. Happy hunting and playing!