Friday, June 12, 2009

Inside Out Lips and the Limitations of Chanel

Happy Friday! I've got a few little updates and some great new makeup products to blog about tonight. I also went to Sephora this evening and picked up my free Perricone MD Sample with my torn out Lucky Mag page. I was told I have 425 Beauty Insider Points and, beginning in July, Sephora will be giving Beauty Insiders who accumulate 500 points something extra special. Oooooh ... I LOVE more incentives to shop!

Quick negative (read: realistic) update on the fab Chanel Beaute Initiale Energizing Multi-Protection Eye Cream. While it is still the most phenomenal eye cream for faking like you got a good night's sleep and reducing the puffiness, it does not work when you spend the night crying your eyes out. I guess even Chanel has it's limitations! So, don't think you can have a crying jag and use Chanel in the morning to make it all go away. I guess nothing beats a cold washcloth and cucumbers.

Speaking of cucumbers ... the Fresh Soy Face Wash was even better this morning. There was nothing like waking to the fresh and tingly feeling of the cucumber and rose water with a splash of cold water. I could definitely enjoy this as a typical morning routine.

I felt that, given my lengthier pre-makeup skincare routine, I needed something to be faster. So, I purchased the Smashbox Eyeshadow Trio. At $28, I was a little skeptical, but the colors looked so darn pretty. I thought this would reduce having to open 4 different MAC pots, since I use one vanilla base, a brown and a charcoal to make the perfect brown and then yogurt (soft pink) for the dusting. So I purchased the color "Shutterspeed", which is the one pictured here. It's vanilla taupe, soft charcoal and matte bisque. The colors looked beautiful on the back of my hand in the store, but the vanilla wasn't bright enough, the bisque wasn't pink enough and the charcoal wasn't brown enough - too gray for my blonde hair and fair skin. Guess I'll have to keep searching here. Maybe woman is not meant to live with only three eyeshadow colors alone.

Now for a super fun never-before-heard of product that I love, love, love: Cargo Reverse Lip Liner! Oh my God this is a terrific product! It's a natural colored pencil that only comes in two colors - light and dark. Light was actually too light (pink) for me, so I bought dark (beige). It's designed specifically for lip gloss. You know how most lip liners are too dark for your basic lip gloss? Well, this lip liner is drawn on the outside of the lip line and totally prevents feathering and sets your lip gloss. What I really liked to was that you can really make your lips appear fuller. I even tried it by lining the outer lips with this pencil and then relining the inner edges with my basic pencil. I loved the results and stopped that nasty feathering that totally happens when I wear lip gloss. Honestly, it's a great invention and only $14! Keep in mind though that, once you line, you need to smooth out the product with your fingers or an eyeshadow sample tester foam stick. The free ones from Sephora work great. As soon as I find the perfect lip exfoliant, I am on my way to the perefct kisser with this new product and the Smashbox Nude Liner in Fair.

While awaiting my new Bare Escentuals products, I tried the new Lorac Natural Performance Foundation - meant to give you "picture perfect coverage that stays put throughout the day". Hmmm. Not so much. It's a nice foundation and very light, but totally doesn't match up to others I've used. Better than Estee Lauder's Color Match Foundation (which is way too thick), this one blends well with your skin. But, even with primer, it tends to settle into the lines. Not a fan. Can't wait to try my free No Foundation Foundation from Perricone. To be continued ...

Meanwhile, more to come this evening because I am fully prepared to peel!!! Oh, and as for the nail color of the summer - Mermaid by O.P.I. for Sephora - it is finally back in stock at most Sephora locations. I got mine this evening.

NIGHTIME:


Oh ... my ... God! I was laughing so hard when I came on to blog tonight because I read how excited I have been about doing a peel this weekend. What in the hell was I thinking??? Ouch! No ... not just ow; not just ouch, not even owie .., but full on
ooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuucccccccccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I cleansed with La Mer Cleansing Gel (still stinky and green - not a fan) and then proceeded to use Natura Bisse GlycoLine Glyco Peeling Plus 50%. It is freaking $172.50 per freaking ounce!!! So this little treatment tonight was an $8.63 sample test. As soon as I put it on, I thought I was going to have to take it off. It was stinging sooooooo badly! I thought "You can do this. It can be good. Calm down. Breathe. Breathe. Ouch. Crap. Wait... Breathe. Breathe." Then, it started to dry a bit and I felt I could handle it. So, what does any normal idiot do while waiting 20 minutes for a product to work? Get in the bathtub, of course. Nice. Calm. Relaxing. Wait ... what the hell? Am I sweating? Ouch ouch ouch ouch. It's starting to sting again. Ouch! Out of the bathtub I got. I knew this would be the only time I would try this product and I didn't want to take it off. Once I checked the mirror to confirm my face hadn't melted off like the Terminator, I stood there like a moron and decided to try a hair product sample to take my mind off of it. (More on that little adventure below.)

Eventually, the 15 minutes was up (yes, I know I said 20 earlier, but the box said 15 to 20 so I was DONE at 15) and I washed with lukewarm water. Oh thank GOD! I have to say, though, sitting here blogging an hour later, my face still hurts. Surprisingly though, it's not very red. My face does look brighter, but for god sake, at what cost? And the packet says to do this twice a week! Are they high? I wouldn't do this twice a year!

And in another "What the hell is this?" moment, I tried Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment. This is currently a free sample available at Sephora.com and it is a MUST MISS! It's kind of like spoiled milk or some other horrible scent where you can't be the only one who knows about it and you turn to your friends and say - "Oh gross! You have to smell this!" It smells like a weird clay, but that's not the problem with it. It's super strange in that it looks like clay too, but you rub it in your hands and turns into oil. I can't even fathom the physics of that. It was seriously weird. Okay, so you then apply it through your dry hair, leave on for 20 minutes, then rinse and shampoo. Yuck-ola! It's like I stuck Play-Doh in my hair. AND it smells like a cave. And it didn't do anything except make my hair heavy. Just trust me and skip this one. You'll thank me.

I used HealthySexyHair's Pumpkin Rehydrating Shampoo after washing out the Ojon. First off, it doesn't smell like pumpkins. Second, the whole thing with the hair was a must miss and I really just wanted out of the tub, so I decided I didn't like this product just because. Hey ... I'm entitled.


As if I hadn't been traumatized enough this evening, I tried La Mer - The Body Lotion. Surely a lotion that costs $225 for 13.5 ounces will feel wonderful. NOT! First off, it doesn't smell all that clean. Kind of musky. Second, it soaked into my skin so darn fast I didn't feel like I even got any on me. Later, I would realize that it lasts for quite some time and does provide significant moisture, but I would want to use it so sparingly because of the price, I would not enjoy this product. I put the whole $5.83 sample on my arms and legs. My hands still feel smooth, but I won't be using this product again.

To calm my poor little face down, I used Ole Henriksen's Express the Truth Wrinkle Resistance Cream with African Red Tea and Vitamin C. Sounded good, right? Actually, it was a nice night time lotion. A little went a long way and it smells like a sweet-tart. I like that! Finally - something to enjoy!!! It's $65 for 1.7 ounces.

I also used the Natura Bisse Diamond Bio-Lift Eye Cream. The Diamond brand is a bit pricier than the basic brand. Very nice product. Lovely really. Quite silky and soft. I could definitely use this eye cream during the day. There is quite a bit left in the sample packet, so I'll use again when my face is not so much on fire. I also like the fact that the little sample packet comes in a shiny silver - almost like tinfoil - since that is how the real product is. I haven't seen a sample like that before. This is a fabulous eye cream. It also definitely diminished the dark circles, though I disagree that it diminished the puffiness - to be tested in the morning. It's $145 for .8 ounces at Neiman's. If I could, I would have a pot of this eye cream and a pot of the Chanel ($70 for 1.7 ounces), depending on what my eye needs were for the day. Free shipping at Neiman's with promo code JUNNM.

So tomorrow's report will encompass the update of the face peel. My skin really does look pretty spectacular right now (bright, hydrated, soft, silky to the touch), so I'll let you know if I really would use it again. Based on the sample use and prices, my face has to look $22.14 good for me to reconsider all of the products.


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