Benefit Boi-ing

I thought this was my HG

I am so bummed that things didn't work out between me and this concealer. For the first 1/3 of the pot, things were wonderful; I thought I'd found THE ONE. So creamy. Such smooth, weightless, natural coverage that I forgave it for coming in only three colors. Then Boi-ing began to crease on me. Then it dried out and rubbed or flaked off. I found myself reapplying throughout the day, but it just became a cakey mess. Extra eye cream didn't solve the problem. When my dog chewed this up, I figured she'd done me a favor and moved on to Clinique's All About Eyes Concealer, which I LOVE.

February 18, 2010

Benefit Miss Popularity

Brings out cheekbones

I received a sample of this at Sephora, and I'm enjoying it while it lasts but $24 is over-the-top, even for Benefit. Miss Popularity is uniquely formulated as a pearly white loose pigment, of sorts, in a glass bottle (bonus points for cute packaging). The screw-on cap is connected to a sponge applicator that you dip in the bottle. The product can then be applied to cleavage, eyes, around the lips, and in the corners of eyes and under the brows (anywhere, really) to brighten. It's especially lovely when dabbed along the top of your cheekbones and then blended.

February 18, 2010

Benefit Dr. Feelgood

Matte it out

I use Dr. Feelgood on my nose, chin, and forehead, over my foundation, to instantly mattify. Thanks to its handy container I can take it with me everywhere to touch up as needed (usually only once). Even though it seems waxy, if you rub your fingers in it and lightly dab on it will go on weightlessly. Still, oily skin types should beware: wax is crazy pore-clogging.

February 18, 2010

Lush Solid Perfumes

I wish these were better

In theory, Lush Solid Perfumes are an inexpensive way to wear some of Lush's best scents. In reality, they last only a couple of hours. I purchased one in my all-time favorite Lush fragrance, Olive Branch, to rub on my wrists and neck. Sadly, after less than two hours, I couldn't catch even the faintest whiff of Olive Branch no matter how hard I sniffed at my wrist.

February 16, 2010

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

My manicure chips

It pains me to give Seche Vite a mediocre review since it's so highly celebrated by beauty bloggers and Total Beauty reviewers. While I love how quickly Seche Vite dries and sets my manicure, adds shine, and smooths brush strokes and other imperfections in the polish, it fails to protect my manicure. Using Seche Vite as a top coat, my polish chips off in less than 24 hours.

February 16, 2010

Shu Uemura Glow On

A work of art

The slim rectangle of lucite perfectly showcases one of the best powder blushes on the market. Available in an array of stunningly beautiful colors, Glow On is so finely milled it disappears into skin, leaving a "lit from within" glow that you'd swear was natural.

February 16, 2010

Napoleon Perdis Auto Pilot Pre-Foundation Primer

Love it, but not ready to commit

The sample of this product lasted over a week, during which time people kept complimenting my "dewy complexion." I definitely credit this primer. It's a slam-dunk for dry skin, offering hydration and a smooth surface on which to apply foundation, resulting in a more natural look. I hesitate before buying it again, however, because of the over-the-top price. Other prestige primers are all around $10 cheaper.

February 12, 2010

Renee Rouleau Glycolic Serum 10%

Throw away your scrub

I bought this serum after I finally accepted that facial scrubs were insufficient to exfoliate my dry, flaky skin. My skin's constant shedding caused blackheads on my nose and chin. Not only were manual scrubs ineffectual with the blackheads and flakes that caused them, they aggravated my rosacea. When I saw this chemical exfoliant, I decided to give it a try, and I'm so glad I did. I used it according to the directions: seven days on and seven days off. Four days into my second round, I started to notice an improvement. By the time Round 2 was over, my blackheads were mostly gone and so was my skin's ruddiness. Even though I love this stuff, when my bottle runs out I'm going to try to find something that is similar, but less pricey.

February 12, 2010

Clinique All About Eyes Concealer

My holiest of holy grails, my desert island product

I have struggled to hide the circles under my eyes since my high school boyfriend told me they were so dark they looked like "a second set of eyes." Finally--FINALLY!--I have found this, Clinique All About Eyes Concealer. The texture is so perfect you can't tell I'm wearing concealer, even at the end of the day, long after most other concealers had given up and settled into my fine lines or worn away. I purchased this in the lightest shade, Light Neutral. Others have said this color is too yellow, and at first I agreed. But I found that when blended correctly and used with my Bobbi Brown color corrector, the color is perfect.

February 8, 2010

Stila Stila Sun SPF 15

For a healthy, natural glow

I waite for nearly 27 years before I would touch bronzer with a 10-foot pole. I was terrified of becoming an orange, shimmering mess, or that bronzers would look like mud on my pale skin. I'm glad I tried this (in shade #1). The matte, finely-milled powder gives me a nice glow and I don't look like I'm wearing any makeup. I brush this under my cheekbones (for contouring) and then a little on my nose, forehead, and neck, so it looks even.

February 8, 2010