HAIL TO THE LIPSTICK QUEEN

  

Does anyone else remember the "mood" lipsticks? They came in bright primary colors and turned a much different color on the lips? They looked cool, but they were terribly dry and waxy on the lips.

BEHOLD! 

Lipstick Queen has brought back the concept with Frog Prince. Bright Kelly/Emerald green in the tube, this super emollient lipstick feels more like the best lip balm you've ever had and gives you a flattering rosy hue, specific to your body's ph level. Because SCIENCE!

What the brand says:

"Get heads turning with Frog Prince, a remarkable emerald green lipstick that transforms into magical rosebud upon contact with the lips. Don't be fooled by the deep green hue of this semi-sheer lipstick - the green reacts with the warmth of your lips turning them an intense, fairy tale rose. No two pairs of lips will look the same as it adapts according to your pH and natural coloring, appearing entirely different yet beautifully flattering on everyone. Vitamin E and Shea Butter keep lips soft, hydrated and deliciously kissable. And just like true love itself, this enchanting shade was made to last. Lips remain their blissful pink all day long from just one lingering, magical Frog Prince kiss.

• Moisturizing Shea Butter and anti-oxidant Vitamin E soothe and protect
• Glossy, wet formula wears into a gentle, flattering and long-lasting pink tint
• Unique to you – Frog Prince adapts according to your pH and skin tone to create your most flattering shade of pink"

What I say:

Yeah! I would have to agree with them! The formula can't be beat when it comes to hydration. The product is sheer, but turns the skin an opaque color, which works like a stain so it gives you super long lasting color payoff! 

Below, you can see the original tube, the green product with the rosy pink packaging. The packaging is a pink metallic with a rubberized grip around the sides. It's very pleasant to the touch and easily found in a makeup bag! The top right pictures is me putting on the product, then directly under is a few seconds after, you can just make out the color starting to turn! 

I gave the product time to fully develop, about 15 minutes, then took another picture. Voila!

The color deepened, I'm not wearing any lip liner or gloss, and I'm loving it! Though the color isn't coming out in the picture, like I'd like. But that could be user error with the green background, you get it though, right???

I purchased the lipstick via EBATES and Ulta.com.

I really enjoy making money back when I use ebates, use the link above (yes I get credit) and sign up! Especially when the lipstick is $25 (US)! So sign up, you'll see what I mean!

Beauty Blender vs Super Blender: What's the difference?

I did it. I finally bought a Beauty Blender. BUT NOT BEFORE I purchased a knock-off.

Allow me to explain.

A few months back I purchased the Super Blender Sponge from Ulta (which retails for $4.99 US), used it with a fairly heavy-duty foundation, and was very happy with the results.

But I couldn't help myself, around Christmas when the deals are-a-posting from everywhere, I saw a deal that I couldn't refuse. The Beauty Blender "Pure" WITH the solid cleanser bar, via amazon.com's Beauty Blender store for $23.95 (which isn't much of a discount, but it was enough to get me to the minimum dollar amount for free shipping, which is what I was really after). 

Beauty Blender with Solid Cleanser bar

Both sponges are to be used damp (run under water, squeezing a few times, then squeeze between a towel to get the right amount of damp) and then "bounced" or "pounced" on the skin rapidly, sectioning the face out to insure even application; which is a complicated way of saying Stippling. Both have a pointed end and a rounded end. The pointed end gives you better control of the little areas of the face that aren't flat, like the edges of your nose or under the eyes. Anywhere you usually have to use your finger to blend out. The flatter/rounded end is for the wider/flatter parts of the face, like the cheeks, forehead and top of the nose and chin. 

So what's the difference? One word. TEXTURE.

Sizes when dry and damp, very similar!

The pink Ulta sponge is more dense, even when dampened, and it sounds weird to say, but it makes more "noise" when you use it on your face. It sounded like it was a rubber ball bouncing on my face. Which almost put me off and simultaneously made me giggle. 

The Beauty Blender, once damp, was definitely softer. I did get worried that my foundation would be sucked into the center of it; but I was pleasantly surprised to realize that it didn't soak up as much as the pink Ulta sponge.

The resulting finish was fairly close for both; the big differences were that I felt I didn't use up as much foundation with the Beauty Blender as I did with the pink Ulta sponge, and when I washed the white Beauty Blender it seemed like anything that had gotten soaked up, was dispersed down the drain with that solid cleanser. When I washed the pink Ulta sponge, the water was pink-ish along with the foundation being washed out which means the dye washes out. Which freaks me out a little, but it's not a danger or anything.

Do you need this? Depends. Do you use liquid foundation? Do you find that you don't really like the finish of your foundation at the moment or that you're having to work really hard to get it the way you like it? Then maybe, yes. Personally, I really like the way the Beauty Blender and the Ulta Super Blender performed with my liquid foundation. But if you're content with a BB cream or tinted moisturizer then NO, you definitely don't need this. Otherwise it's up to you!

TIP: Go to YouTube and search how to use the Beauty Blender sponge properly BEFORE you purchase EITHER of these! You want to get a sense of "how" to use it before you buy it and then have absolutely no clue.

What do you think? Have you tried either? Did you have a terrible experience? Would YOU recommend either? 

It's time for WEN Fall Seasonal scent, but not Pumpkin???

Fall Apple Spice WEN

Last year, I professed my undying love for the WEN Fall Seasonal Scent in Ginger Pumpkin, and I'm still deeply in love with it's warm and delicious scent (still available on Amazon.com if you can find it!) and was looking forward to the Fall Season on QVC and restocking my beloved Fall WEN.

Much to my dismay...THE SCENT CHANGED!! After gasping and clutching my pearls, swooning in shock; I saw that the new scent is Fall Apple Spice. So I closed my eyes and clicked here, ordering my first 16oz bottle. 

Naturally, as soon as my regular sized bottle had shipped; QVC offered the BIG MAMA 32oz Fall Apple Spice WEN (pictured above). Not wanting to repeat last years mistake and NOT purchasing the BIG MAMA straight away, I ordered again. Blindly. 

I'm very pleased that I did! The Fall Apple Spice scent is delightful! All the benefits of regular WEN, but with a soft warm but fruity-sweet smell that lasts while your hair is damp (longer if you use it as a leave-in too), and fades away as the other scents do (as far as I've noticed, I don't spend a lot of time sniffing my own hair throughout the day.)

Slightly spicy, and I mean slightly, the scent is fruity and pink (yeah, the product is pink and it smells pink) but without a powdery linger. More sweet than anything, it's less a cinnamon spiced apple cider and more of a Candied Apple from the Farmers Market or Local Fair. 

Last years delicious Ginger Pumpkin smelled warm to me, and while this Fall Apple Spice has a similar push, it's not nearly as warm smelling as it's predecessor.

Do I like it? YES!! Is it as good as the Ginger Pumpkin? Well...no. But I still like it and still recommend it to people who enjoy WEN and all of Chaz Dean's WEN products.

 

Contour? Bronzer? YES PLEASE TO BOTH!

I've been meaning to post about this next little gem for a month.
With summer (in this part of the hemisphere) threatening to burn us at every new dawn; it occurred to me "HOLY BIKES, I AM PALE!!" Normally this doesn't bother me, but now and again...YIKERS!
I'd been reading and seeing a lot of this next little beauty product for several weeks and decided, what the hey, I'll bite and try it and so far I'm very pleased!

CHANEL Soleil Tan de Chanel is a cream/gel bronzer that LOOKS scary but performs beautifully with minimal effort. I'd seen it used on Pixiwoo all the time. The more I saw it used, the more obsessed with it I became! I HAD TO HAVE IT. So I called up my nearest Macy's, connected to the Chanel counter and made sure they would have this must have item. With it being Spring, I really doubted they would have it in stock. Luckily for me, they did! At a hefty $48.00 (U.S.) this was a major purchase for me. Needless to say, I did a fair amount of research and testing before I laid my money down.

Much to my happy surprise, there's little to no shimmer! There is a teeny tiny amount, but it's not truly visible to the naked eye. It's more of a blurring element than a sparkle. The texture is dreamy; smooth and creamy, easily picked up with a dry brush, easily spread over bare skin or foundation (in my case I used it over this BB Creme and continue to be impressed by the results.

On the LEFT I used the Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel as a contour (pre-blended, obviously); and on the RIGHT I used the same product with the same brush as a bronzer. The effect is much more subtle, you may not even be able to see the difference, but it's there. I promise.


Real Techniques - Expert Face Brush (I purchased at Ulta) is the perfect tool for the creamy bronzer. It's not-too-soft, not-too-hard synthetic bristles are almost stubby in the rounded shape but that is exactly what gives you all the control you need! I also used the same type of brush for my BB Creme, but to insure I keep the brushes separate, I painted the bottom of the brush handle with a gold nail polish to remind me this one is for BRONZER. With the brush price point of $8.99, having multiples of this brush is virtually guilt-free.


Recommendation: If you can afford it, I say go for it! The consensus in the vlog/blogosphere is that the product lasts for years and is easily used every day for every look. The blendability is off the charts; while being so emollient, it's not greasy at all which made me even happier with my purchase.

The Essentials: A Solid BB Cream and a GREAT brush? What a concept!

I've been a fan of the BB Cream, specifically SmashBox BB Cream in Light. So when a solid/cream form of my favorite almost-foundation I was desperate to get my little hands on it!

Enter in Too Faced Air-Buffed BB Creme Complete Coverage Makeup! It's got the lightweight feel of a BB Cream and tinted moisturizer (once applied), but the coverage is so much better! It's build-able but still feels like there's barely anything on my skin! And you can't argue with the result:

On the LEFT: My bare face. On the RIGHT: My face with the BB Creme!

You can see the major difference! My skin looks smoother, more uniform without looking flat. The redness is virtually non-existent with the Too Faced BB Creme! AWESOME! The color that matched my skin was Vanilla Glow.

The Air-Buffed BB Creme comes with a little brush that clicks directly into the top of the cap. Convenient? Yes! Did I want to use it all the time? Nope. It'll do in a pinch, but with regular wear, I was going to need something more substantial.  To which I purchased a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush from Ulta and could not be happier. The brush is terrific, I highly recommend spending the $8.99 and picking one up. (Actually I bought 2! The price is so great, and you never can have enough good brushes!)

The Expert Face brush is synthetic fiber shaped in a short dome which makes applying creamy products absolutely effortless. Building the coverage of the BB Creme was easy; I just stippled some of the product where I needed the extra help then blended further out. The finish is a soft matte, so I  could set with a translucent powder or let it dry down on it's own. Voila! 

The BB Creme retails for $39 (U.S.) and comes in a small range of colors, only 5 to date that I could find. Which isn't the best, but it's what's happening right now. If the product sells well I hope the color options will increase. 

Recommendation: I say go check it out! Find your nearest retailer that carries Too Faced and see how the Air-Buffed BB Creme works with your skin! I purchased the products myself, and I love them!

WEN, it's time for Fall

I'm elated! My enormous 32oz Ginger Pumpkin WEN showed up yesterday!
Purchased from QVC.com, this warm and dreamy scented beauty debuted last year at the launch of the Seasonal Scents.
I love this hair product in the first place, but wrap it in spicy ginger and warm pumpkin and I'LL PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE WEN!

The scrumptious Fall scent just came back, but it's going to be limited release, surely. If you're a fan of WEN, then give the regular size bottle a try. QVC pricing for the 16oz bottle is $29 plus S&H and applicable tax.
Since I've already established my adoration, I jumped at the chance to get the BIG size, 32oz Ginger Pumpkin WEN for around $60 plus S&H and taxes. However when I went back to check the pricing, I couldn't find the big size! It may have sold out, I'm not surprised one bit.
I'm a big fan of Fall, and the Seasonal WEN is only adding to my fandom. :)

And the new WEN Summer Scent is....

MANGO COCONUT!!
And it is WONDERFUL!

I got my new WEN scent from qvc.com yesterday and could not wait to use it!
Much to my surprise; the stronger note in the bottle is the MANGO and not the coconut! I thought for sure I would smell like suntan lotion/the beach experience upon using the shiny new concoction, but no! The scent is strongly fruity, but not super sweet. Unlike other WEN scents, this one lingers long after. The smell is sweet but not overly so. Completely lovely!

photo courtesy of qvc.com community picture

My recommendation? If you're already a WEN fan, give it a shot! I'll be ordering another bottle soon.

Hydration Happiness

Heavy moisturizers. They come in jars and I've avoided them for most of my life. They have such a negative reputation. The greasy, heavy feeling, no thanks!

However I was looking for a moisturizer with a little more oomph and I came across Abyssine Cream Plus by Kiehls. On the pricey side, at $48 US, however this little sucker is fantastic!!

Photo straight from Kiehls.com, here's their deets:

•Anti-wrinkle defense cream to help reduce the signs of aging and protect skin from external damage.
•Abyssine, a survival molecule which thrives under the extreme conditions in hydrothermal ocean vents, helps soothe and protect skin. 
•Helps minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles while defending skin from free radical damage.
•Dermatologist-tested and suitable for sensitive skin.

Super. But what does it mean??

What it means is a small amount works itself effortlessly into the skin with no greasy afterfeel!! Skin feels hydrated and soft without the weight associated with most "creams". I didn't have to wait for it to absorb to begin my makeup. The texture is dense but whipped. Which doesn't make sense but when you feel it for yourself, you'll see how quickly it spreads and absorbs into your skin. It smells terrific too!  Not flowery, but light and fresh.

Have I noticed any difference in fine lines or wrinkles? No, but I wasn't looking for them in the first place really. I wanted something that felt good and had value. I found it. A little dip with a Q-Tip and away I go! *Little known fact, you never want to touch your jarred creams, like eye cream. The oils from your hands can break down the product when it's left in the jar.*

If you're starting to look at your moisturizer and think, "What have you done for me lately??"; do yourself a favor and get yourself some Abyssine Cream Plus by Kiehl's. It's perfect for day or night or both! The beauty of Kiehl's is if you can get into a store (A Kiehl's Store or department store like Nordstroms) , they will almost always let you have a sample to take home. If they don't have any samples, you can open the tester and touch the product yourself which I always recommend. 

So there's the little gem that's been making my face feel amazing for a little over a year (one jar lasted me about 6 months!). I couldn't be happier with it!

Getting the basics & High-tech product review

It's a two-fer!

With the multitude of options out there, it's easy to get confused on what is "right" for your skin care regimen. I say regimen because let's face it, (ha, face!) there are lots and lots of products out there geared towards the care of the face! Let's put all the toners, lifters, serums, alpha-hydroxy, outer space stuff aside for a moment and get the basics covered, shall we?
Here are (in my opinion) the only things a person truly "needs" to do to maintain their skin. Cleanse. Hydrate. Exfoliate.
That's it! Allow me to break it down further.

1. Cleanse - From makeup to pollutants, the face gets dirty. Try not to think about it too hard or you'll end up afraid of your own face. (ACK! Bacteria!) A gentle cleanser is something that should be in every bathroom. Whether it's in cream form, towelette form, gel form, oil form; whatever, a good basic cleanser is a must. I prefer to abide by this rule: Treat your skin the way you want it. Translation - if you WANT oily skin, use the cleansers geared toward Oily Skin. I know, that sounds backwards. "Who wants oily skin??" Think about it though. The primary reason skin can be oily (other than genetics or ethnicity) is stripping. Not the kind with g-strings and glitter; but when all the natural moisture is taken away, leaving the skin "squeaky" clean and tight. That is actually a bad thing! It causes the skin to go into overdrive to replenish pumping out excess moisture (oil) to try and compensate; but THEN the dry skin that's on the top layer actually can get caught up and mixed with the dirt and crud in the air and clog your skin up, resulting in a break out. And a never ending cycle. That's very very common. It also has created a multi-billion dollar dependency. However, I digress. Think about trying a basic, gentle, normal cleanser (labeled normal) or normal to dry or something that says "normal" or as close to it as you can. You want a balance in your skin. Removal of the uck without taking the good stuff with it. A dear friend of mine wrote about washing your face with a combination of oil which I must admit makes me want to try it! Find what works for you, but try and open your mind about what your skin can be like. Don't mentally lock in to "dry" or "oily", give your skin the benefit of the doubt.

2. Hydrate - Every skin needs a little touch of something moisturizing. More often than they realize, people with "oily" skin need the heavier moisturizers because of the dry surface (that's causing the excess oil, see above rant) area they have inadvertently caused. Some people use separate day and night moisture (I do!) and some people don't. Whatever you use, use it. You don't need to slather anything on (other than sunscreen) heavily, a light touch of moisture is best. By the way, that means eye cream too. I know, I know. Usually people say "but but that's separate??"; yes. It is. Again, a light eye cream shouldn't be expensive and it's more dense than regular face moisturizer. The eye area is delicate and yes, should have it's own moisturizer. Always put it on along the orbital bone and with your ring finger (it's the weakest) and it should take little time to absorb. If it's too thick it will stay on the surface and do you no good. That's true with any hydration; facial or body.

3. Exfoliate - This one is the forgotten. Helping along the natural shedding process of the skin makes everything work better with skin care. I don't recommend highly abrasive cleansers (with sand/pits of fruit) because what they do is gouge deeper than you realize into the skin surface resulting in a dryer appearance and feel; instead of sloughing off the cells evenly. Rounded bead type elements work best. OR some sort of brush system. However fingers and hands work just fine. The denser packed the beads are, the smoother your skin will be. If there's more "cleanser" than bead, that means you aren't getting as much exfoliation as you think you are. It should feel scrubby without feeling scratchy.


Ok! Those are the basics! Don't get me wrong, I have a love of the serums and such too, but if my skin starts to act up or not be the way I want it; I go right back to the basics.


Here's a high-tech find for you: The Clarisonic Mia 2 as seen in Sephora, Ulta, and QVC (though QVC may be out of the Mia 2).

It's a sonic cleansing system (yay for sonic! sorry, I'm a Whovian) that vibrates your skin so you're actually getting a lot more benefit from everything! It's not cheap, at all. But it's the one that works! It cleanses AND exfoliates gently (I don't have to use a separate exfoliation product) and allows my moisturizer to absorb quicker and I use less because it goes further! I use one pump my basic cleanser, Aveeno Positively Radiant with my Mia 2 morning and night. Avoiding the eye area (hey, it's a sonic brush. You can't use it on your eye). the new Mia 2 has a self-timer ( two 20 second time frames on the T-Zone areas, and a 10 second time frame for each cheek) so you know when to move on to the next section. The Mia 2 is one minute of my morning and night skin care regimen that I'll gladly perform. It's not cheap, but it's one of the best purchases I ever made.

From the Infomercials

I'll tell you straight. I've become a bit infatuated with infomercials about beauty products and have come to giddily love watching QVC beauty nights. It's a guilty pleasure. It's also resulted in some terrific finds! Allow me to introduce the TOPSTYLER!!

*Picture courtesy of some dude probably on ebay, I just google-imaged the picture of what all came in the box I purchased as opposed to what the infomercials sell. (They sell less C-Shells and have an extra comb and some weird little prong thingys that are a styling aid. I don't have those and actually don't really want them anyway)

I have a lot of color treated (boy howdy is it color treated), wave-tending , fine hair. When I blow it out, I like to blow it out with a round brush and get what my stylist (HI RENE!!) calls Porn-Star hair. Straight but with BIG volume and body. However, I love love LOVE a head full of curly, bouncy hair. 

From the people that brought you the Instyler (google it, it's a brush with a barrel rolling curling iron attached. It looks like a good idea from a stylists point of view {styling someone else's hair is a WHOLE 'nother ball game} but terrifies me because all I can see is my hair getting trapped in it and having to tearfully cut off sections of my hair.) this looks like a strange and mysterious set of....very strange and mysterious things!

When I first saw the infomercial I was curious. Having grown up in the 80's with a mother who LOOOVES my hair curly (HI MOM!!); I've always considered myself to be a bit of a curling implement expert. I've had Hot Sticks, traditional hot rollers, sponge curlers, Caruso Molecular Hairsetter (sponge rollers with a steam unit), teeny tiny curling irons, plastic heated curlers that looked like little buns in my hair, sleeping on wet braids, sleeping on numerous wet braids rolled up in sponge curlers; all to get that wave, that pouf, that volume, that CURL I so desperately HAD TO HAVE! In my adventures in curling, I was always disappointed in the very ends of my hair. From my roots and middle of each section I would have this lovely bouncy wavy curl and then *GAH* my ends would pouf out like dry straw. Completely ruining the look. Especially when the look inevitably falls (which they ALL DO) the ends would look so strange and crispy and  let's face it...UGLY!

What first intrigued me to the TopStyler was, HOW IN THE FRAK DO THEY GET IT TO WORK??
Answer: It's old school "pin curl" type thinking. Pinning a hot/warm curl up always ALWAYS results in better curl. Why?? Because the heat goes AWAY and the hair will cool in the same position, CURLED! It works on any kind of hair type (so says the manufacturer).

When I first tried the TopStyler, it took me about 30 minutes to put all the C-Shells where I figured they should go. Now, when I use it, it takes me 15 and I'm always trying new section combinations of the 10 large and 5 small C-Shells all over my head. Sometimes I use a little light hairspray (American Elnett hairspray is the finest mist I've found) before wrapping the hair around my FINGERS, tucking and pinching the curl at the base of the section and then putting the C-Shell around the curl and letting go. There are many MANY youtube videos out there to show you how to do this. I'm not going to post my own video. Mostly because I don't know how...I'm just starting out this place!

The important thing to remember is to begin with dry hair. If the hair is even the slightest bit damp, the curl won't hold. But that's try with any heating curling element really. Frankly the ones that are damp to dry tools freak me out. The steam looks like smoke and smoke coming from my hair is terrifying.

Like any new fancy toy, this one takes some getting used to. However I've completely fallen in love with the consistent results and the fact that it's shaved off nearly an HOUR of my morning routine. AN HOUR people!

*I've been using a "two finger" curl (wrap the hair sections around two fingers instead of one for a looser curl) in regular, large and small sections and THIS has been the result almost every single time! The other times I used too much hair or twisted it before wrapping it and it gave an interesting result, but not exactly what I wanted at the time.

The TopStyler is terrific! It also comes at a terrific price. I had seen it on an infomercial, but then saw a more in depth QVC beauty night demonstration. The infomercial had less product (the C-Shells) than the QVC version. I was all set to order the QVC version when the price tag popped up. $99.99 plus shipping and handling and taxes. Yikers. I thought "Ok, I want it, but I'll wait" so I did. But I would watch wide-eyed every time it came back on the screen. Confessing my newest obsession to my bestie and roomie, Amanda (HI AMANDA!) she too confessed that she'd been drooling over it too!!

How lucky to find it AT A TARGET!!! The same unit, 10 big C-Shells, 5 small C-Shells, comb, instructional DVD and booklet! Hang on, again with the $99.99 US. Ok. So the thing is expensive....I bought it anyway and I'm so glad I did! It takes the place of every curling set I've ever purchased (which reminds me I need to toss or donate those bad boys, anybody need some Hot Sticks??) and have make my hair shiny, curly, big and bouncy.

Ok, enough of my prattling on. If you have any questions feel free to leave it on the comments or if you want to comments, please do the same!

Bottom Line: I love the TopStyler and highly recommend it to anyone who wants an easy way to get great results in hair curling!