Top makeup and beauty blogs to follow

LONG gone are the days when you had to trawl the glossies for makeup and beauty advice. Now, makeup and beauty blogs are encouraging discussion on all things cosmetic. Catherine Yen shares some of the best out there.

Temptalia

Temptalia is the ultimate makeup haven for the beauty blogger- with a whopping 1,969 and counting pages of beauty product reviews, there is hardly a makeup product on the market that Temptalia’s editor Christine has not tested. Clicking on page 1 is like time traveling to the cosmetic past.

Readers are given the lowdown on the latest cosmetic launches and innovations with lengthy discussion over the strengths and weaknesses of each product, an evaluation of how well the product has lived up to its claim (How many anti-aging creams really wind back the clock ten years?) before a final letter grade is given to each product. Readers are able to choose the cream of the cosmetic crop with only the most stellar blushes and eyeliners awarded a coveted A+ grade.

Temptalia also features some handy beauty gadgetry such as a foundation matrix of shades from every product from every brand and a dupe archive of similarly hued products for the efficient beauty shopper.

Nouveau Cheap

With a single lipstick (particularly in Australia where cosmetic prices are always inflated) often costing in excess of $50, Nouveau Cheap is a blog dedicated to the search for great beauty products that don’t break the bank.

By scouring the “drugstore”, the American equivalent of a pharmacy and a one-stop-shop for cheap thrills, for hidden gems, Nouveau Cheap allows cosmetic consumers to make educated decisions on how their beauty budget is spent.

And for frugal beauties lemming after a Dior Lipstick or a Yves Saint Laurent eyeshadow palette, Nouveau Cheap also compares drugstore “dupes” of high-end beauty products so that readers can practically find designer products at friendly price-tags.

Makeup Geek

Makeup Geek’s maxim is that makeup application should be easy and fun. By providing a spectrum of makeup tutorials from the most basic application of eyeliner to advanced eye-shadow artistry, Makeup Geek demystifies any confusions that budding makeup lovers may be presented with.

Acknowledging that the makeup market is flooded countless formulas of pink lipgloss and immeasurable hues of taupe eyeshadow, Makeup Geek also features helpful articles such as “Top 5 Face Primers” and “How to Choose Your Red Lipstick”.

Additionally, for Makeup Geeks wanting to share their passion for cosmetics, the site runs an active forum for makeup discussion.

Beauty Swatch

The Beauty Swatch team, headed by Melbourne based Akisa, is dedicated to the  sole cause of building an online library of lip colours.

By applying and then photographing every cosmetic they encounter, Beauty Swatch has created a cosmetic archive comprised of literally hundreds of lip products applied directly to the lip for true-to-life colour. Not only does Beauty Swatch employ a multi-ethnic team to ensure lip colours are tested on a broad range of skintones, the extent of their reviewing is thorough  – from opaque, firetruck red lipsticks to sheer and glossy lip tints, the Beauty Swatch team as tried and tested them all.

Beauty Swatch ensures that lip colour lovers can now forgo long searches for unique orange lip pencils and wasted money on lipsticks colours that clash with their skintone. Next time you’re unsure of whether that hot fuchsia shade would suit you, be sure to consult the Beauty Swatch library.

Beautyholics Anonymous

Tine, editor of Beautyholic Anonymous, is a self-prescribed “beautyholic” and her down-to-earth blog is a channeling of her insatiable addiction to all things makeup and skincare.

Having migrated from Malaysia to Australia in 2008, Tine realized that many Asian women struggle to find products that suit olive complexions in the European-orientated Australian cosmetic market. Though her blog is aimed primarily at aiding Asian women, Beautyholics Anonymous is a blog for women of all cultures and skintones. After all, as Beautyholics Anonymous’ slogan reads, ‘Beauty comes in all sizes- not just size 2!’