The Beauty Bunny

If you relish the idea of mixing glam rock style with Japanese quirkiness, you’ll love Gwen Stefani’s new Harajuku Lovers fragrance line. There are five fragrances to select from, each bottled inside an adorable teeny replica of one of Gwen’s backup dancers. 

The Harajuku Lovers:

• Love: a floral scent with notes of bergamot, pomelo, peach, rose, jasmine and orchid
• Lil’ Angel: a fruity floral with raspberry, blackberry, pineapple, rose and amber
• Music: a nostalgic number with clementine, pear, jasmine, sweet pea, honeysuckle, vanilla and musk
• Baby: a powder musk with freesia, bergamot, rose, jasmine, heliotrope, vanilla and violet
• G (yes, the letter G): a gourmand fragrance with mandarin, coconut, apple, freesia and sandalwood

Continue reading Fragrance Friday: Harajuku Lovers by Gwen Stefani

Total Beauty has the hookup on sales from the biggest beauty brands. Check ‘em out and report back with your haul!

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Discount Deals of the Week

Check out these free samples, beauty product steals and contests from top brands like Clinique. Hurry, they won’t last long!

Everyone loves a good bargain, which is why we’ve rounded up some of the best deals, sample offers and contest opportunities from favorite beauty brands like Clinique, Stila, L’Oreal and more. Take advantage — they’ll only be around for another few weeks! Shop deals

Once just a garnish on a platter of sushi, shiso is now the hottest ingredient in skincare and anti-aging science. This potent antioxidant is popping up in everything from soap to hair masks as a way to detoxify and protect skin from pollutants and UV rays. Here are a few products containing shiso:

• Zelens Radical Defense Serum ($200) uses shiso to help prevent and repair visible signs of premature aging.
• Roger and Gallet Shiso Energizing Body Cream ($25) uses shiso extract to wake up and stimulate your skin. It also has rice extract, so it’s basically like eating hibachi.
• THANN Shiso Hair Mask ($29) uses Shiso extract as a natural anti-oxidant and moisturizer.
• Calvin Klein IN2U For Him Cologne ($38) features Shiso leaves as a heart note.
• BURN Liquid Shiso Tea Leaf Hand Wash ($24) includes Shiso leaf along with white tea, green tea and bamboo sap. Asian influence galore!

Photo credit: Clive Champion

When it comes to celebrity makeup, Gwen Stefani’s look is iconic. Here are Gwen’s favorite makeup and beauty products for maintaining her glam rock look while being a new mom:

Ricky’s Smooth and Bungee Elastics: “I like to play with my hair. When you’re pregnant, you’re tempted to change your style radically. I’ve had to resist!” For maximum hold, Gwen uses Pantene Pro-V Sheer Volume Hairspray.

MAC Matte Lipstick in Russian Red: Gwen says her hubby Gavin Rossdale loves her in red lipstick. “I still just want to impress him,” she admits.

Continue reading Gwen Stefani’s Favorite Beauty Products

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and cosmetics companies are stepping up to the call of the pink ribbon with beauty products that donate to breast cancer research and treatment funds. Here are some of the goodies you can grab to beautify your bod and your soul with a donation:

DuWop Pink Shimmer Brick and LipLingo Pink

The limited edition Pink Shimmer Brick ($18) can be dusted over bare skin for a hint of shimmer that brightens and evens skin tone. Liplingo Pink ($32) is a lip palette containing a rose lipstick and 4 different toppings: a subtle gold frost, a pale pink shimmer gloss, a rich pink sparkly sherbet tone and a super shiny, pink-tinged clear balm. 20% of Pink Shimmer Brick’s proceeds go to the Cosmetic Executive Women Cancer and Careers Foundation, and 20% of the proceeds from LipLingo Pink help fund breast cancer research.

Continue reading Beautiful Ways to Support Breast Cancer Awareness

I love Urban Decay - yay for intense colors! - so I was super happy to see how well these shadows fared with the reviewers. See for yourself:

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Urban Decay Deluxe Eyeshadows

Guest review by TotalBeauty.com editor Sarah Carrillo

Made for the daring, most of the 12 Urban Decay Deluxe Eye Shadow powders are intense and fluorescent — anything but subtle. See review