Sunday, January 17, 2010

The Most God-Awful product that I've tried

Bye Bye Pores HD Silk Micro-Powder by It Cosmetics has got to be the most god-awful product I've tried. This powder is so opaque that I felt that I was wearing a mask. Although it contains ingredients beneficial for the skin, I found it drying.


Bye Bye Pores HD Silk Micro-Powder

Talc gets a bad rap, but talc-based finishing powders work better than Bye Bye Pores and don't obscure my complexion.  If you want to use a talc-free HD powder, I recommend Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Powder. Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Powder is a favorite of beauty editors and makeup enthusiasts and justifiably merits its hype.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Who wins our giveaways?

Our winners come from across the U.S. and Canada!

Our latest winner is Lisa from Missouri, who won the JK Jemma Kidd fashion junkie eye palette and lip palette.

Ann from California won the Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation.


Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation

Zara from North Carolina won the L'Oreal Paris Big Blowout Giveaway.

Ashley from New York won the beautiful Areaware Desk Accessory Set made from naturally harvested mahogany and sonokeling wood.

Caramel Diva from Florida won the Beauty Strokes Mineral Optics brush collection. See pictures of her Beauty Strokes Mineral Optics brush collection and read her comments!

Christie from Ohio won the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar collection.

We had two winners for Delirium & Co scented candles: Rachel from Minnesota and Robyn from Indiana.

We had three winners for Three Custom Color Specialists Mood Lighting Shimmer Cremes: Irene from Canada; Margaret, also from Canada; and Tammi from Ohio

Becky from Illinois won the 12-piece brush collection from Beauty Strokes.

The fine print: Thanks to all company representatives who donated products for our giveaways!

Friday, January 08, 2010

Best drugstore mascaras

We had the best mascaras at all price points, now we have the best drugstore mascaras. It makes sense when mascara needs to be replaced frequently.

These products feel like splurging -- minus the high price tag

11 Best Drugstore Mascaras
Are you a mascara fanatic? We are too. However, that doesn't mean we'll drop lots of cash on high-end mascaras (well, OK, it does, but we don't JUST do that). Especially when there are these cheap-but-awesome ones out there. Check them out, and say good-bye to your $20-a-tube days.

Sam Fine recommends L'Oreal Voluminous Mascaraicon as an inexpensive option.

P&G is ceasing to distribute Max Factor in the U.S., but you can find its top-rated Stretch & Separate Waterproof Mascaraicon and Volume Couture Mascaraicon at drugstore.com.

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

More winter skin care advice - face

This article is a follow-on to recent articles on caring for the lips and overall skin care in winter.

Experts often recommend a richer moisturizer in winter time, but you might want to use it on dry patches only. Hydrocortisone cream can minimize redness and relieve dry patches, but be sparing: repeated use over time will thin the skin.

I use The Solution by Envision Beauty as an overnight moisturizer. I reviewed this light weight lotion back in April 2009, and my appreciation of this product has only grown since I posted my review. This is one of the few product samples I’ve received that I have used to the bottom of the bottle and went out to purchase afterwards!

I appreciate that Kimberly Snyder revealed that many cosmetics companies spread skin care ingredients among several products, such as moisturizers and serums. The Solution is designed to be a 4-in-1 product: still, the $75 price tag per bottle is too steep for my budget. I took advantage of a recent BOGO promotion to replenish my supply.

While the bottle recommends 2-3 pumps, I find that a single pump works well, even for my dry skin. This also helps to conserve precious product.

Aside from product, I also run a vaporizer in my room, particularly during the night. You might also hang damp clothes taken from the washing machine or lay damp sweaters on a sweater dryer to humidify the air.

In a subsequent post, I’ll provide tips about body care and hand care during winter.

Friday, January 01, 2010

Best and worst magazine covers of 2009

These images certainly caught our eyes at the grocery store, how about you?

This year gave us some really amazing magazine covers -- and a few that left us scratching our heads in confusion. Check out our picks for the best and worst magazine covers of 2009 -- did your faves make the list?

Guess which was among the worst magazine covers?

While not necessarily bad-bad, the February 2009 issue of Allure came in for criticism on account of Stephane Marais's applying a fake bake tan to fair-complected redhead Isla Fisher.

Happy New Year

Happy new year 2010 friendster Glitter Comments