Archive for June, 2006:
God, I love this stuff. It’s like getting a high grade, hyper pigmented eyeshadow, without paying the $15-20 price tag at a departement store. Instead, the L’Oreal hyper pigmented eyeshadow only costs about 6.99 at your local drugstore. I got the brown colors, one is almost a greenish brown and the other is a lighter tan color that complements the green-brown.
Usually I have to “swish” my eyeshadow brush in any of my other eyeshadows a couple times to get the color to come off with any intensity on my eyes, but with the L’Oreal HIP eyeshadow, I only need to do one swish in each color and I’ve got long lasting, ultra rish color on my eyes.
This hyper pigmented eyeshadow comes in quite a few different colors :
Charisma, Cheeky, Dynamic, Foxy, Lively, Mischief, Playful, Sassy, Saucy and Spirit. These are all ranges of blues, purples, greens and browns, with a little added twist to each, whether they be more muted or very bright for maximum intensity and color. I love these things…
This newer product is a brow shaping gel that is slightly tinted for added color and definition. It claims to hold the shape of your brows for hours, instead of making them go all haywire after a few hours in humidity.
Pluses are also that it does not come out all gummy or gooey, and adds a realistic contour and shape to your brows, which in my opinion are one of the most important parts of you beauty, since they frame your whole face. Nothing worse than a pair unkempt eyebrows!
I reviewed the T3 Tourmaline hair dryer last post, and I did acknowledge that it had some bad reviews about it, especially for the $160 price tag. This one, the Bio Ionic Super Hydrator dryer has really gotten nothing but rave reviews for it’s superior moisture infusing abilities, and overall performance as a fast and efficient dryer for your hair.
Most women reported that their hair really did look and feel more moisturized, less frizzy and shinier. The Bio Ionic runs in the neighborhood of $160 also, but women report it’s one of the best hair investments they’ve ever made, so in my opinion this dryer is definitely worth checking out….
The T3 Tourmaline Ionic hair dryer has garnered a lot of attention in the world of professional hair dressing and care, because of it’s reported serious conditioning and defrizzing abilities. What is tourmaline? Tourmaline is actually a precious or semiprecious gem that has the capablity to emit hair calming ions which also lend themselves the hair drying much faster.
I tried the T3 hair dryer and I really liked it a lot. It was very lightweight, and it did seem to dry my hair faster. I also came out with lustre and shine, which is more than I can say for most hair dryers.
It is a little expensive, but it’s supposed to be long lasting, so it may very well be your best hair care purchase if you end up loving it! Beware though, there have also been some mixed reviews on it.
It was only used on my hair once, and by a professional, so I’m not sure if it was the professional that made the difference or not. I’m also going to review another popular hair dryer called the Bio-Ionic the next time.
This newer self tan lotion is making a little bit of noise in the tanning world, as a great alternative to making it look like you’ve been on vacation. It is supposed to give a really long lasting (supposedly 7 days without reapplying) tan, as well as instant color if you’re going out or anything right after application of the product. Here’s what some customers have to say about the Ultra Bronze Auto Bronzer Tanner :
“I used to cook my skin in tanning beds for hours trying to attain that “perfect tan”. All I got was burned and wrinkled. I took a chance with Ultra Bronze Max, and I’ll never go near another tanning studio again! All my friends constantly nag me to let them in on the “secret” to my fantastic looking tan. I’m not sure they would believe me if I told them! Thanks guys!” Steve-Wyoming
“I spent hour after hour lying outside in the burning sun trying to achieve a deep tan when I was younger. I cringe to think of the damage I did to my skin during that time! Now I use your product religiously. I can’t imagine being without it, so easy to use, so real looking, and best of all, my skin looks and feels great!” Sandy-Vancouver
Summer time is once again upon us. Gone are the thick socks and stifling shoes, and in are the feet-baring sandals that adorn your shoe closet. You know what that means ladies. Pedicure Time! Oh, and while we’re talking about pedicures, most of these pointers also apply to manicures.
Manicure and Pedicure Liste of Items to Buy:
1.) Cuticle Stick
2.) Cuticle Oil or Conditioner
3.) Fast Drying Base Coat
4.) Fast Drying Top Coat
5.) Buffer
6.) Large Emory Board
The first thing you need to do is to make sure you start off with clean nails. Clean nails will help the nail polish to bond better with the nail, and help ensure a lasting finish. If you have any nails that are obviously longer than all of the others, then I suggest you use a small pair of nail scissors, not clippers, to give them a trim before anything else is done.
The reason I don't suggest using clippers, at least on your hands, is that they tend to make fragile nails split, because they do not "bend" with the nail when it is cut off, which stresses the rest of the nail and can cause splitting and breaking down the line. Once the nails have all been evened out with a pair of nail scissors, the filing begins.
Begin with an emory board style nail file, not metal. It is easier to use the larger emory boards rather than the small, because it covers more surface area and tends to be more easily manipulated. Gently file the rough edges of the nails, angling it only slightly around the outer edges, for a somewhat "squared off" look. You don't want the nails too rounded, since nails typically grow better and faster when they are kept in a squared shape, but you can use your judgement as to your shape preference.
Next, using a rubber tipped cuticle stick, gently shape the cuticles. Some people have barely any cuticle at all, and can skip this step. Others may have thicker, more noticeable cuticles and they are the ones that need to focus on grooming them more. One you've shaped and gently pushed back your cuticles, dab a drop of conditioning cuticle oil and rub in.
Use a makeup brush and dust off any dust leftover from filing. You may even want to go wash your hands so that none of the nail dust or the cuticle conditioner interferes with the application of the polish. The next step is crucial to the longevity of your manicure and pedicure, since it forms a base which provides optimal adherence of your polish to your nail surface.
Use a nail buffer, or the buffing side of your nail file, and lightly buff the surface of your nails, just enough so that you do not see as much luster on the surface as you usually would. Now, take your preferred sheer or clear base coat polish and slick a light layer of it on. Wait a full minute and half at least, and then you may begin to apply your nail color of choice.
This next step is also very important to the longevity of your manicure or pedicure, as it seals you polish in a hard armor which is very tough to chip. Using the top coat of your choice, slick one to two layers of the top coat on and allow to completely dry. And that's it, you're done! Trust me, if you follow all of these steps your manicures and pedicures will last forever! Well, maybe not forever, but you get the picture.
I was seriously contemplating trying out this new mousse foundation sold by Maybelline, but then I remembered how bad of luck I’ve had with Maybelline makeup in the past, and I ended up passing on it.
What is the Maybelline Mousse Makeup? It’s a little container, almost like a smaller compact, with a thicker creamy looking (caky I thought, actually), foundation in it which looked like a mix between a bronzer, powder and a liquid foundation.
Why I passed on it:
The look of the makeup reminded me of the old time cakey looking foundations that were used back in the fifties and sixties. It also looked like it may not last very long, since it was in such a small container, especially if you’re someone who likes a lot of coverage on your face, or who has small blemishes that need a little extra coverage.
Also, being an on and off acne sufferer, the teen in me said to steer away from the stuff , because it did not look pore-friendly to me. Might some of the other higher end brands that offer Mousse style foundations and makeup be better?
It is a possibility, but I don’t know that anyone with oily skin or large pores should use a foundation in this category, because of the simple fact that it IS a heavier makeup. Some of the higher end makeups that offer mousse foundation are Elizabeth Arden, Ramy, Avon, be, Lancome, and I’m sure there are others.
So Fake Bake, as is nearly always hyped as Madonna and Britney Spears’ tanner of choice (btw did you hear about their “falling out” what a crying shame). Is this higher end self tanner really good, or all hype? Well, it’s pretty good stuff. Fake Bake has been clinically proven in studies to last a whopping 50% longer than your ” average” self tanner.
That in itself should be intriguing enough to try it out. It also does give a really nice, deep tan look without any of that fake orange look that some of these products can give. Why do I like Fake Bake?
Because they have a slew of spinoff products that enhance your tan like an extending tan lotion, which helps give you a longer lasting fake tan and helps prevent uneven fading, they have this really cool Fake Bake Xtreme Gel TriPak which contains three of their products which will give you a super intense tan that lasts forever on your face and body.
Fake Bake has also come out with a newer product that is geared more toward your face, so it doesn’t contain an pore clogging ingredients, and is ideal for your more delicate facial skin. It also won’t give you any sort of orange tinge like some of the bodily ones do.
St Tropez self tanning products have gained a lot of attention for being an awesome alternative to baking yourself in the sun, because of the superiority of natural color they deliver.
St. Tropez self tanners also have a lot of loyal followers in Hollywood, because they are a higher end, longer lasting self tanner that Hollywood starlets can use “in between” their Mystic Tan sessions or airbrush tan sessions, whatever they do.
Some of the reviews of this product are that the smell is not offensive, it goes on smoothly and evenly, dries quickly and produces a very natural color that lasts for a long time and fades well. Fading well is really important in a self tanner, remember my review of the Sally Hansen Airbrush Tan? How it fades irregularly, making you look like you’re patchy and uneven?
Not only has it gotten rave reviews in the “self tanning community”, I love it too! You can make it last too, if you’re worried about price, because it lasts longer than cheapo self tanners.
OK, I thought I might really like the Sally Hansen Airbrush spray on self tanner, but I’m having big time second thoughts. I love the fact that you don’t have to get your hands all gooey and messy and the smell at first isn’t that bad, like copper pennies or something, like a lot of the other self tanners. I also like the fact that it dries practically on contact, and you have to do minimal blending with your hands.
However, this spray tan fades terribly. I’m sticking to the cream and lotion self tanners from now on, for sure. I noticed on my arms the next day that I had several white marks that resembled “freckling” like the tan was just rubbing off in spots. I thought maybe it was a coincidence or I just applied it wrong, so I gave the Sally Hansen Airbrush tan another try, making sure I blended, blended blended.
But to my dismay, the spotting and irregular fading happened again. I also noticed that it wore off faster on some parts of my body than others, making me look “splotchy” and very unnatural. It also might give a bit of an orangey effect, which is a huge no no in self tanning. So, I guess I’ll be sticking to my creme self tanners!
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