If you're a true beautynista, but you're a beauty booty lover on a budget, allow me to recommend NYX Cosmetics.  NYX is a budget brand that can be found at large beauty supply stores, often the ones in the 'hood.  If youre unable to find it in any of your local beauty supply stores, NYX Cosmetics are also available for purchase on Cherry Culture.com (where one of my favorite beauty bloggers, Vanessa, is a beauty expert).  According to many beauty bloggers and beauty lovers, NYX products are comparable to higher-priced beauty brands.  I particularly love the NYX Round Lipsticks, the Rouge Cream Blush and, the product I'm reviewing here - the  NYX Mosaic Powder Blush.

I am in love with the NYX Mosaic Powder Blush in Love.  As a Black woman of medium complexion, a bright orange blush looks really nice on me - it also works for women of deeper hues, if you have a warm tone to your complexion.  Previously, my favorite versions of the bright orange blush were CARGO blush in Laguna and NARS blush in Taj Mahal.  I usually layer Laguna with a bronzer, but Taj Mahal I wore by itself because of its shimmer.  I always loved the way it looked on me, that was, until I saw a picture of myself in broad daylight, wearing Taj Mahal (shudder).  It's not that the blush is any less beautiful - I still love the shade.  But really?  The abundance of shimmer is just too much for the daytime, I think.  It was way too bright and shiny.  I'm thinking Taj Mahal is being relegated to my evening makeup wardrobe from now on.  But now, what can I wear that will give me that wonderful orange shade and a touch of glow without exorbitant shimmer?  The answer is NYX Mosaic Blush in Love.  This blush contains five different shades of orange with just the tiniest hint of a glow.  Yum!  And at only $6.75, you can buy one of these blushes in every shade, if you like.  I encourage you to do so.

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If you're looking for a suitable gift for a sultry goddess in your life (or if you are a sultry goddess yourself), look no further than Global Goddess.  This line of cosmetics was created by Shalini Vadhera to suit the beauty of women of darker hues, particularly Asian and Middle Eastern.  I am intrigued by this line, both for its global beauty aesthetic, but also because of the lush packaging and fabulous names for the products.

For sultry lids, try the I Divine Eyeshadow.  Infused with white tea (an antioxidant), these shadows supposedly give a firming effect to the ey area and can be used for daytime or layered for night.  I found the shadows to feel silky upon application, but I did notice a bit of a powdery effect on the lid - however, if you are careful to tap off any excess powder before applying it, that can be mitigated.  I did love the polished effect it gave to my eyelids and I found, with pleasure, that the I Divine Eyeshadow in Darjeeling also serves as a wonderful wine-colored blush when applied to the cheeks.  In fact, I sported Darjeeling as blush all last weekend.

To finish off your eye look, add a swipe of Cairo Eyes Liquid Kohl Liner in your favorite shade.  Of course, you can never go wrong wtih a basic black (Cleopatra), but I got to try Nefertiti (soft burgundy plum) and I was in love!  In fact, I got a wonderful compliment while wearing it: I was told that my (in my opinion, basic brown) eyes looked like they had been sprinkled with paprika - apparently, the plum shade of the liner brought out the tiny reddish flecks in my eyes!  How awesome is that!

To finish off the global seductive look, add a pop of glossy color to your lips with a Moroccan Mystique Lip Veil.  This lip gloss comes in six rich colors, but my very favorite is Marrakech, a sheer seductive wine.  I think I spent the whole weekend puckering my lips at folks.  My lips looked so darn smooth and kissable and they felt great, too!  No tacky stickiness to the formula and when the shininess of the gloss wears off, the color doesn't wear off with it, which truly impressed me.  The color stains your lips so you're not left with naked lips and an otherwise made-up face.

I am hoping that Shalini has much success with this line, as I am loving these products and want them to stay around for a good long time, not to mention that I'd love to see the color ranges expanded.

You can get Global Goddess products on www.globalgoddessbeauty.com.

 If you have a loved one or friend who wants to look beautiful, but isn't exactly the most outgoing person alive, consider making a gift of the Three Custom Color Specialists Watercolour in Wallflower.  This product is designed for use on both cheeks and lips and gives a shimmering touch of color to both.  I was worried that, as a brown-skinned woman, the Wallflower shade wouldn't work for me, as it's described as "shimmering beige", however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the product is beautifully buildable and, with a couple thin layers, I achieved a wonderfully bronzed look on my cheeks and a sexy nude lip.  It's a great way to look naturally beautiful in a matter of seconds.

  Are you looking to get really saturated, deep color on your lids, but haven't been able to achieve the depth of color that you desire?  Here's a tip: Use a brush designed for mineral shadow!  Because these brushes are made for loose powder application, they often have shorter, denser bristles.  When used with pressed powder formulas, the brushes pick up more powder, and, when patted onto your lids, the powder will achieve a brighter color saturation.  Trust me, you'll see!  Give it a try and let me know how it works out for you.

 I'm so excited and honored!  NaturallyCurly.com, one of my favorite resources for information on the products, tips, and tricks that work best for curly girls, has chosen me as one of their Top 10 in 10 Beauty Bloggers!  It feels great to be on the list and I'm flattered.  Please make it your business to head over to NaturallyCurly.com - it's a great website.  You can buy products, search for information about how to best cultivate your curls, find a salon with stylists trained in curly/highly-textured hair or just chat with other curly girls like us.  And check out the list to see the other bloggers found worthy.  It's an awesome collection!