Tuesday, December 22, 2009

RIP Prescritpives Cosmetics

Cry Cry Cry!!

Effective in January, Prescriptive counters everywhere will close! This is a bummer! = (

Prescriptives custom blend foundation is one of the first "high-end" products that I ever bought. What can be better than a foundation custom blended to match your skin! And custom blended loose powder too! (According to the Prescriptives website, the custom blend foundation and powder will still be available on-line as long as you have your recipe, you can save it in your profile). Their popular fragrance, Calyx, will still be sold in select department stores and on-line.

I use alot of different foundations, but one of my favorites is Prescriptives Flawless Skin. It is fabulous and I will really miss it! I plan on stocking up on a few extra bottles while their still around and using it on special occasions only! LOL!

So if your a Presciptives fan, better run out and stock up on your favorites before they're all gone!


FTC Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Prescriptives. Products were purchased by me and these are my honest opinions.

REVIEW - Vaseline Sheer Infusion Body Lotion

I decided to pick this up and try it since my trusted staple body lotion CeraVe was not cutting it this winter. If you have seen the commercials on this, it claims to "penetrate all 3 layers of your surface skin". Well there is no way I can tell if it does that or not, but so far this lotion is working out great! I apply it in the morning after my shower while my skin is still somewhat damp. This is keeping my skin comfortable throughout the day and the night. It is not sticky or tacky in my opinion, but I am used to using thick creams due to my dry skin. I got this in Botanical Blend fragrance and it smells AWESOME!! Please let me know if you try it and what your thoughts are! It is $7.99 per bottle.

Link to coupon for $1.50 off!



FTC Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Vaseline. This product was purchased by me and this is my honest opinion.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

REVIEW - Kirkland for Borghese 2009 Makeup Brush Set from Costco

I saw alot of raves for this makeup brush set on makeupalley. Me, being the makeup brush whore that I am (LOL), for $20 I had to have them!

You get your basic eye and face brushes, a pretty nice carrying case for them and a smaller travel brush set in a carrying case and an eyelash curler.

These are pretty good brushes! The powder brush alone is worth $20 in my opinion, it is AWESOME! And the eyeshadow brush, is just as good, if not a little bit better than my MAC 239 brush which costs $22 by itself!

If you are just starting out with makeup brushes, this set is a must have!!


FTC Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Costco, Kirkland, or Borghese. These products were purchased by me and these are my honest opinions.

REVIEW - New Revlon PhotoReady Foundation & Finishing Powder

Being a big fan of Revlon ColorStay foundation I just had to try the new Revlon PhotoReady foundation. And since CVS had BOGO on all Revlon products, I decided to go ahead and get the new Revlon PhotoReady finishing powder too. Revlon is trying to cash in on the High Definition foundation craze. I have previously tried Make Up Forever HD foundation and Cargo Blu-Ray HD foundation. Both of which are over $30 and I hated them! They both oxidized on my face something fierce!

The PhotoReady foundation, I would describe as medium, buildable coverage. It comes in a pump bottle! (Revlon PLEASE start offering the Colorstay in a pump bottle)! It is not as runny as CS. It is SPF 20. It does not come in as many shades as the CS but I found my perfect match in one of the lightest shades as usual, Shell-003. Vanilla-002, which is lighter is a decent match as well, but more with yellow-undertones, where Shell is more pink-undertoned. For some reason, no one in my area is carrying Ivory-001 which is the lightest shade available.

I apply with my favorite brush for liquid foundation, the Coastal Scents large buffer brush. It is very easy to blend, the match to my skin is near perfect. This has a little sparkle to it, it is a little more apparent in the sunlight, so if you prefer a matte finish, this is not for you.

The finishing powder is good too. I don't find anything particularly special about it, but it is a good setting powder for the money, especially since it was BOGO!

All in all I am very impressed! A nice little addition to my foundation arsenal!

Photo courtesy of okayphillistine




FTC Disclaimer: I am not associated with Revlon. These products were purchased by me and these are my honest opinions.

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Dry Winter Blues

I am sure some of you girls share my dilemma. Every winter as soon as the temp goes below 40 and the heaters come on, my skin becomes painfully dry, everywhere! Hands, face, body, and scalp! My hair gets really dry too. Here are some tricks I have learned over the years to soothe my dry skin & hair!

1. Exfoliation is key during the winter months to get rid of the flaky skin and to prep your skin to absorb your moisturizer better. I exfoliate everyday using a micro fiber cloth with my cleanser and I use my Clinique 7 day scrub cream every other day. I also do a micro-dermabrasion/peel treatment once a week and an intense scrub once a week as well (MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator).

To exfoliate my body, I scrub with a micro fiber cloth and a moisturizing body wash everyday and once a week I use a scrub. You can use any inexpensive scrub you can find at Wal Mart or make your own with sugar and olive oil.

2. Moisturize! I have to intensify my moisturizers in the winter, switching from lotions to creams. I am a big fan of Cetaphil Cream. Its inexpensive and works great for everyday! Since I use Retin A, I can get a little irritated on some days, so occasionally I will treat my face with either Lancome Nutrix Cream or Welada Skin Food. These are really thick but great for an intense moisturizing treatment.

For my body, I love CeraVe lotion or cream for everyday use. At night I use a body lotion with Alpha Hydroxy in it on my really dry areas. And if I am running late in the morning, after cleansing my body I will rub baby oil all over it and then "rinse" it off. This is a good trick if you don't have alot of time to rub lotion all over in the morning!

3. Hands - My hands are the worst in the winter because I am a little OCD and wash them alot! For general use during the day I like the AVO Juice Skin Quencher lotions by OPI. At night I will do a moisturizing "treatment". When I do this, I wake up with soft silky hands and it usually lasts pretty good throughout the day. First, I use a scrub on my hands to get rid of all the flaky skin. Then I use a lotion with Alpha Hydroxy acid in it. Then I rub a dollup of CeraVe in. Then I cake on Vaseline Clinical Strength lotion, not rubbing it in and I put on moisturizing gloves and hit the sheets! This seems like alot of product, but this moisturizing "cocktail" really does the trick for me!

4. Hair - Usually in the winter, I have to switch to washing my hair every other day and I try to let it air dry when possible. Blow dryers can really dry your scalp out. Once a week, I will use a deep conditioning mask. I like Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair mask or Grund Tiger mask. Sometimes I will leave this in overnight. If I do blow dry I always use a heat protectant. I am also loving the new hair "cleansers". You may have seen the infomercial for "Wen by Chaz Dean". This one is pretty expensive, but Sally's makes a great "knock off" called "Hair One". I like the olive oil one, it is specifically for dry scalps. These hair "cleansers" also save time in the morning because they are one step shampoo and conditioner in one.

For lips, see my earlier post on tricks for dry chapped lips.

Hope that helps!

FTC Disclaimer: I was not paid for mentioning any products in this post, nor were any of them provided to me free of charge. All of the mentioned products were purchased by me and these are my honest opinions.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

My Holy Grail Items

In honor of my favorite web community, makeupalley, here are some of my holy grail items. I thought I'd list a high end and a drugstore item in each category!

High end items listed first, drugstore ones second.

Foundation:
Calvin Klein Infinite Matte Liquid Foundation (sadly discontinued)
Revlon Colorstay

Loose Powder
Laura Mercier Translucent
ELF Mineral Booster

Pressed Powder
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural
Sonia Kashuk Bare Minimum

Bronzer
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess
ELF Warm Bronzer

Blush
MAC Melba
Jane Blushing Cheeks in Orchid Shimmer

Eyeshadow Primer
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer

Eyeshadow Base
MAC Paintpot in Painterly
NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone

Eyeshadow
MAC Eyeshadow in Cork & Blanc Type (sorry couldn't pick just one!)
Wet & Wild Eyeshadow Palette in Paradise Cove

Pencil Eyeliner
Urban Decay 24/7 in Underground
Loreal HIP Chrome Eyeliner in Black

Gel Eyeliner
MAC Fluidline in Dipdown
Wet & Wild gel eyeliner in Eggplant

Mascara
Make Up Forever Smokey Lash
Apple Lash

Lipstick
Estee Lauder Pure Color in Pure Eden (sadly discontinued)
Maybelline ColorSensational in Blushing Brunette

Lip Gloss
MAC Lipglass in Underage
Milani Glitzy Glamour Gloss in Endulging

Hope you all enjoyed this!