Laura Mercier Lip Stain
During my recent potted lip color spree I finally decided to try a product I’ve been meaning to check out for quite awhile now:
Laura Mercier Lip Stain in Shy Pink
I really, really like this color. It’s very flattering on me and, I suspect, would be equally flattering on a wide range of skin tones.
I consider this more of a lipstick in a pot than a lip stain. The finish is like that of a satin lipstick — a soft sheen that is neither glossy nor matte. While it is pretty long-wearing compared to most lipsticks, it doesn’t really stain my lips. I definitely can wipe it off without the aid of a make-up remover if I want to.
Misnomer notwithstanding, it’s still a very nice product.
It’s not particularly moisturizing, but it’s not drying, either. It feels lightweight and non-sticky on my lips. I can wear it by itself for at least an hour before I feel the need to add a layer of balm over it, which softens up the color a bit but still leaves me with a my-lips-but-better tint.
You can apply with either your finger or a brush. The packaging is top quality and the pot is generously sized. At $20, I don’t feel like this is overpriced.
While I am not quite as in love with this product as I am with the NARS Lip Lacquer that I bought on the same shopping trip, I do like it enough that I’m planning to test one or two (or, okay, ALL) of the other shades the next time I’m in Sephora, and it’s a safe bet that I’ll purchase at least one more.
If you’re a fan of lip products in pots (and we all know I am!), this is definitely worth checking out.
Revlon Colorstay Creme Gel Eyeliner
After my recent disappointment with a splurgey Guerlain eyeliner, I decided to see if I could do better in the make-up aisle at my local grocery store.
The answer is yes. Yes, I could.
Revlon Colorstay Creme Gel Eyeliner
The problem with the Guerlain eyeliner, you may recall, was that it had zero staying power. Well, they don’t call this stuff “Colorstay” for no reason. Holy smokes, this will stay put all day long. Longer, even, if you’re not thorough with your eye make-up remover at the end of the day. No fading. No smudging. No melting. No migrating. At all.
I love that it comes in such a teeny little pot, making it much more likely that I’ll use it all before it dries up. The small pot does make it somewhat difficult to gauge how much product you’re picking up with the brush since you can’t really see into it very well, but after a few uses you’ll get a feel for it.
I love the built-in, travel-friendly brush, though I must warn you to be careful how you hold it. It can be a little bit unstable where it snaps together, and if you put pressure in the wrong spot it will fall apart mid-use.
I love how smoothly it glides on and the dark, dramatic lines it creates. If you prefer a thinner line, you’ll definitely want to use your own favorite brush rather than the one it comes with, though. Also, this stuff dries quickly, so if you want to smudge it out a bit you’ll need to work fast.
All in all, I give this two thumbs up. It’s a great eyeliner for the price (I paid about nine or ten bucks for it). The wee pot should last quite awhile since you don’t need much product on your brush, the colors are really gorgeous (I got it in Charcoal, a deep gray), and best of all, it doesn’t irritate my increasingly sensitive eyes.
Well done, Revlon!
Gillette Venus and Olay 5 Blade Razor
When one of my favorite Twitter personalities, Chrissy Teigen, became a spokesperson for the new Gillette Venus & Olay Razor, it was pretty much a given that I was going to try it. I probably would have tried it anyway, actually, because I love my Venus Embrace and I’m always going to try the next best Venus razor, but Chrissy’s endorsement didn’t hurt. Especially when she tweeted that it smells like Creme Brulee.
Gillette Venus & Olay 5 Blade Razor
Wow, this is one big, honkin’ razor. There are moisturizing strips on either end of the five-blade cartridge and they do, in fact, smell like Creme Brulee. They also negate the need for a separate shaving cream, which I didn’t figure out until after the first time I shaved with this thing. I used my usual Kiss My Face shaving lotion and it was really overkill. I mean, there was lather all over the damn place, which led me to suspect that I was an idiot for not realizing what those big moisture bars were actually for. A quick perusal of the package post-shower confirmed my suspicion.
The second time around, I skipped the shaving lotion. I was a little skeptical that the moisture strips would be sufficient for a smooth, razor burn-free shave, but they really worked. No shaving cream necessary. You’d be surprised how much time you can shave (no pun intended) off your shower when you don’t have to mess with a separate shaving cream.
At about $11 for the initial investment (handle, one cartridge, and a handy suction-cup shower hook thingie to hold your razor), and about $5.75 per replacement cartridge, this is not an inexpensive razor. You will save some money on shaving cream, but probably not enough to make up the difference.
If you don’t mind shelling out for it, however, you will probably really enjoy it. It gives me a super smooth, close shave and it does smell delicious. The handle is comfortable and easy to hold (very important for me since my hands don’t always work very well), and the shower hook is convenient. And since I’m usually running late in the morning, the time-saving factor is a very enticing bonus.
Well played, Venus & Olay. Well played, indeed.
Aveda Stress-Fix Concentrate
While shopping at Aveda with my cousin recently, I discovered their new Stress-Fix line. I’ve been dealing with a lot of anxiety lately and you know I love me a good aromatherapy oil rollerball, so obviously I had to give this one a try.
As luck would have it, after I got home from the mall that afternoon my dog slipped and fell down the stairs, dislocating his knee and requiring a trip to the emergency animal hospital, so it was a very opportune time to take a new stress relief product for a test drive.
The dog is fine, by the way. By the time we got to the hospital his knee had gone back into place and all he required was five days of rest and anti-inflammatories.
As for the Stress-Fix, I am here to tell you that it actually works. Something about the lavender, lavandin, and clary sage aroma really is very soothing. My anxiety has been at terror alert level orange lately and a snoot full of this is surprisingly effective at making me feel more calm. I’ve tried several similar products and this one is the best of the bunch.
I swipe the rollerball on my wrists, the insides of my elbows, and the back of my neck and inhale deeply. Also, because I am bad at following directions, I often dab it under my nose and on my temples, as well, even though the box informs me that it is not for use on the face. Thus far, I have experienced no ill effects due to my flagrant disrespect for authority.
I’ve been using it at bedtime every night and any time I feel stressed or anxious throughout the day or evening. I’m generally not a huge lavender fan, but I like this scent enough that I could almost wear it as a perfume. And I’m definitely not made about the Eco-Cert organic certification, either.
Shiseido Control Color Stick Foundation
It’s funny how often I find the best products when I’m not even looking for them. While browsing for videos on traditional kohl application a couple of weeks ago I found this one by LadyLeelu, which also shows how to use Shiseido’s Control Color Stick Foundation.
Shiseido The Makeup Stick Foundation Control Color
LadyLeelu’s video shows you pretty much everything you need to know about how to use this product. I’ve been applying it just like she does, swiping the stick where it’s needed and blending with my fingers. I don’t have much redness to camouflage, but this works wonders on my dark undereye circles and the occasional blemish. It basically turns my face into a smooth, even canvas for my make-up application.
I apply my Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer over it and finish with a light dusting of loose powder and my skin looks flawless.
The texture is very creamy, smooth and light. I don’t feel like I’ve added an extra layer to my usual make-up application at all. It blends very easily and I have had no problems with any caking or settling into fine lines. My skin looks as good at the end of the day as it did when I left the house in the morning.
The stick has a greenish-yellowish tint which is excellent for evening out my fair skin, but I’m not sure how useful it would be for those with darker complexions. However, Shiseido’s regular stick foundation does come in a fairly wide range of shades.
As a bonus, both the Control Color and the regular stick foundations contain SPF 15.
NARS Lip Lacquer
So I was at Sephora last Saturday and for some reason I decided that I needed to buy some lip products that come in pots. I felt very strongly about that. I remembered that NARS had some sort of potted lip product, so I made a beeline for the testers and decided on this one:
NARS Lip Lacquer in Baby Doll
It must have been divine providence telling me I needed this, because holy cow.
Be warned that this lip lacquer is best applied with a brush rather than your fingers. It is a bit on the thick and sticky side, so a finger application is messy and doesn’t really deliver the full potential of the color. Applied with a brush, however, this is maybe the most perfect lip product I’ve ever tried.
I don’t want you to get the wrong idea when I say this stuff is on the thick and sticky side. I have never been a fan of a sticky lip gloss. Bobbi Brown’s lip glosses, for example, I can’t wear. Way too sticky. This product, on the other hand, has enough tack to it to make it last for HOURS, yet it has enough slip that it doesn’t feel overly gummy on my lips. In fact, it wears quite comfortably.
I read somewhere that make-up artists like to use NARS Lip Lacquer for photo shoots because it Does. Not. Budge. This is true. It really does not budge. With any other lip product, I’m reapplying constantly throughout the day. With this one, I can put it on and forget about it for a good three or four hours and I don’t even need to touch it up after eating. I also don’t need to add any balm over it. My God, I’m going to save a FORTUNE on lip balm.
I don’t often have big social events on my calendar because I’m pretty much a hermit and I get cranky if I’m not home and in my pajamas before 6 PM, but on those rare occasions when I do have a dinner party or a wedding to attend, this is definitely going to be my lip product of choice from now on because I won’t need to be sneaking peeks in the mirror for touch-ups all night long.
And did I mention how pretty it looks? Sephora describes Baby Doll as a cotton candy pink and I’d say that’s very accurate. It’s not quite as bright as it appears in the photo above. It’s a beautiful shade for a minimal make-up look and would also be perfect with a smoky eye.
I tested the other shades on the back of my hand while I was at Sephora, and now that I have fallen in love with this product I’ve already ordered Eros (raspberry rose with shimmer) and Chelsea Girls (nude beige). Between this stuff and the Velvet Gloss pencil I reviewed a few weeks ago, NARS has officially become my go-to for lip color and I am loving it.
Guerlain By Emilio Pucci Terracotta Khôl Kajal
I bought this with such high hopes.
I’d been wanting a blue eyeliner, and then I got Sephora’s promo email about the new Guerlain by Emilio Pucci collection and there it was:
Guerlain By Emilio Pucci Terracotta Khôl Kajal in Blu Acqua
So pretty, right?
I have the Guerlain loose powder kohl liner and was hoping this would have similar color payoff and staying power but would be a bit easier and less messy to apply. No such luck. Well, it is less messy to apply, but that’s about it.
I tried using the traditional Eastern application method across my waterline, but not one speck of color showed up. At all. Zero. So I went ahead and used it like a pencil liner on both upper and lower lids. It looked really pretty but the color was far less intense than I’d anticipated and it had vanished by lunchtime. Just melted away into nothingness.
I tried again the next day with the addition of a primer in the hopes that it would help the color to stick around longer. It did not. The results were exactly the same — I could not get any color at all on my waterline and the color I did get on my upper and lower lashlines faded within two or three hours.
Sigh.
It’s a beautiful color, beautifully packaged, but it just doesn’t deliver. Spend your $36 on something else.
Sheswai Nail Lacquer
Whilst foolishly browsing Beautyhabit one afternoon, looking for nothing in particular (DANGER! DANGER!), I found these cool-looking nail polishes:
Sheswai Nail Lacquer in Badass
It was the wooden top that caught my attention. I am a big fan of reducing production and consumption of plastic, so I love that the caps on these polishes are made from sustainably harvested wood. How cool is that? It’s such a simple idea that I’m surprised more companies aren’t already using it.
I also loved the color selection. I couldn’t choose just one, so I went with two: Badass, a bronze-flecked espresso, and What, a dark eggplant gray.
Sheswai Nail Lacquer in What
Sheswai nail lacquers are free of formaldehyde, toulene, and DBPs, which is good news in that they’re less toxic than regular polishes. In my experience with other “3-free” polishes, they tend to be a bit thinner and streakier upon application than the bad-for-you kind, so I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the Sheswai polish went on beautifully. In fact, I almost could have gone with just one coat, but I went ahead and used two since that’s what I always do.
Application is quick and non-messy. Drying time is pretty comparable to OPI. I can walk around the house doing laundry and whatnot after five minutes without fear of ruining my polish, and after two hours I can crawl into bed for a nap and not wake up with sheet imprints on my toenails. The colors are pretty true to the images you see above, and they are very rich and deep.
I wore Badass for a week and a half and it lasted beautifully with minimal chipping — just a tiny bit at the tips. I could easily have left it on for two weeks, but I was impatient to try the second color (which, by the way, I LOVE).
I will absolutely be trying more colors from this line. I’m thinking that bright watermelon at the top of the page and the fuchsia shade three from the bottom are going to be next on my list.
Josie Maran Moroccan Scented Oil Trio
This was totally an “Oooooo, shiny!” impulse purchase. I was just there to order another Argan Balm, I swear. I didn’t mean to look at the other things, but how could I not notice this?
Josie Maran Moroccan Scented Oil Trio
I added it to my cart. Then I deleted it. Then I added it again. Deleted. Added.
Finally, the fact that it was marked as a limited edition set won out. Limited edition always wins. It makes me feel like I have to have it NOW, before it’s gone forever.
I’m really hoping they’re lying about the limited edition part, though, because I love these! They are gorgeous and they smell amazing. Actually, I would love it even more if these are eventually available individually, because I’ll be using up the rose scent at, like, five times the pace I’ll use the other two. Not that there’s anything wrong with the others, but as I mentioned yesterday, I’m all about the rose lately.
Each bottle contains a blend of various oils, including argan, apricot kernel, sweet almond, safflower seed, sesame, avocado, and olive, plus a delightful aromatherapeutic scented oil. The green bottle, Balance, contains rose essential oil and is obviously my favorite. The pink bottle, Revive, contains pomelo grapefruit seed oil for a sweet, citrusy kick, and the purple bottle, Calm, contains lavender oil.
I’ve been using them in a multitude of ways — as a cuticle treatment, as a straight up body oil, smoothing a few drops into my hair to calm frizzies, and mixing a few drops with my body lotion in the mornings, which then serves as my scent for the day. You can also use these as bath oils, though I haven’t tried that because I don’t take baths — I’m strictly a shower girl.
This set is a must-have for argan oil aficionados. It will moisturize and nourish the heck out of your skin and hair, make you smell fantastic, and look beautiful on your counter or vanity. Plus, it’s vegan, cruelty-free, natural, organic, free of perfumes, parabens, and toxins, and the packaging is recyclable. Whew! What more could you ask for?
Olivina Hand Crème
I’ve been trying a lot of great new (to me) products lately and this is one of my very favorite recent discoveries:
Olivina Hand Crème in Honeysuckle Rose
I really need Olivina to make a perfume in this scent because it is awesome. In the meantime, I guess I’ll have to content myself with the soap, and the body butter, and the hand and body wash, and the candle… I really love this scent, you guys.
Beautyhabit sent me a sample of the hand crème in the Meyer lemon scent a few weeks ago. I liked the product but didn’t really care for the scent, so I decided to see what other fragrances were on the menu and BAM! True love.
The hand crème features hand-pressed olive and grapeseed oils, plus lots of other lovely ingredients, including shea butter, sea kelp, safflower oil, aloe vera, sweet almond oil, and vitamin E. It is rich and creamy and leaves my hands feeling moisturized until the next time I wash them. It does leave a slight oily residue, but frankly I wouldn’t feel like it was working if it didn’t. If I wanted bone-dry hands I wouldn’t use hand cream in the first place. I mean, I don’t want my hands feeling like a Slip ‘n Slide, but I do want to feel a bit of a protective barrier, you know?
The 2.5-oz. tube is the perfect size for me to throw in my handbag, but you can also get a 1-oz. tube if your bag is less roomy or if you want to sample it for $8 instead of spending $16 on the larger size right away.
And did I mention how much I adore the honeysuckle rose scent? Because I LOVE IT. I’ve really been having a rose moment lately, which is unusual for me since I’m historically not big on florals and definitely not on rose. For whatever reason, though, it’s working for me right now and the honeysuckle makes it ten times better. I want to smell like this cream all the time. I want a linen spray so my sheets smell like it, too. And an air freshener for my car! And INCENSE! And whatever else they can make smell like this. I’ll take ONE OF EVERYTHING, THANK YOU.
