Product Reviews

Dear Smashbox Hybrid 2-in-1 Luminizing Primer,

I heart you so. When I wear you beneath tinted moisturizer, I feel like I’m glowing. You make my skin dewy and fresh. With you by my side, I feel even better than I do when El Hub cleans the house without me having to ask him to.

Yours Always,

Karen

Do you ever wonder if you *really* need a foundation primer?

Experts say it creates a smoother canvas upon which to work, filling in pores and fine lines so that foundation and powder appear smoother and last longer.

Sounds good, right? Thing is, sometimes I’m too lazy for the extra step. I mean, I’ll bust out my tube of Laura Mercier Oil-Free Primer for big events like weddings, but I’ve never really thought of foundation primer as a daily essential until I tried Smashbox’s Hybrid 2-in-1 Luminizing Primer in Bare Canvas.

Released as part of the Smashbox Muse Spring 2009 Collection, Hybrid 2-in-1 is an unscented liquid primer designed to function as either a makeup primer or a shimmery gold highlighter (hence the 2-in-1).

Smashbox suggests a couple ways to use it: 1) Worn beneath foundation where it smooths the skin and imparts a subtle glow, and 2) Applied on top of foundation to the cheeks, nose, brows or lips for a brighter glow.

I tried both ways, and when I used it as a primer beneath Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer and MAC Blot powder, I thought my skin looked effing AMAZING!

For context, without Hybrid 2-in-1, my skin’s like strip mall runway show with me wearing a burlap bag and Tevas. But WITH Hybrid 2-in-1, my skin’s like Gisele Bundchen in a blinged-out VS bra and angel wings! 🙂

First off, I think it makes my skin significantly smoother. I can really see the difference where I have some fine lines on my forehead. A thin layer of Hybrid 2-in-1 applied sparingly before my other face products gives the skin on my forehead an almost porcelain glow.

The glow takes 2-in-1 to the next level for me. It’s not like the matte, dimensionless look I get sometimes with foundation and powder alone — that mannequin look? No, Hybrid 2-in-1 has more depth than that, more radiant and luminous. This might be wishful thinking, but I feel like I look a little younger, too. 🙂

The glowy goodness doesn’t stop there, as Hybrid 2-in-1 looks good in photos, too. Some shimmery products will reflect photography flash on my forehead and chin and make me look like I’m wearing an oil slick in pictures, but that didn’t seem to happen with Hybrid 2-in-1.

I’m using it in this face of the day from last week…
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You know what they say: two heads are better than one. And with Stila Convertible Mascara ($22), newly released for spring, that’s exactly what you get.

It comes with two brush heads, one on each end of the tube, and according to Stila each serves a different purpose. The fatty thickens and lengthens, and the thin one creates separation.

Full brush

Skinny brush

To test the black mascara and both of its brushes, I coated my top lashes with the fatty and my bottom ones with the thin brush.

And did I find Waldo?

Well, my normally thin, uninspiring lashes looked downright long, full and curly, and the mascara didn’t smudge as the day wore on.

Having the two brushes really helped out. The instructions on Stila’s site recommend using the larger brush for top lashes, and that seemed to work well. It’s designed to thicken lashes, and the smaller brush has thin bristles that make it better for separation.

I kinda think that both Chanel Exceptionnel and Make Up Forever Smoky Lash beat Stila Convertible in the thickening department, but not by a huge margin. Yep, it satisfies my inner drag queen!

Unfortch, there’s a catch.

It’s hard as hell to remove!

It’s marketed as a long wearing mascara, which is fab, but I had to use three Almay Moisturizing Eye Makeup Pads to get it all off … and Almay’s like the Ajax of eye makeup removers!

With a single Almay pad I can usually remove other long wearing stuff like MAC Fluidline, so I was getting a little nervous as I reached for that third pad. “It’s never gonna come off, AHHH!”

But it did. It only took the three pads, LOL!

Of course, I lost two lashes in the ordeal. Yes, I counted. 🙂

I love long lasting makeup, and Stila Convertible has long lasting skillz to pay the bills, but I don’t like how tough it is to remove. I mean, three Almay pads?? Yowza.
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Like Monet’s brush strokes, Estee Lauder’s Spring 2009 Fuschia Now collection sings with soft shades of color.

Estee Lauder organized the products in this release into two camps: the Cool Pinks (purples and pinks) and the Warm Nudes (browns and beige).

For my first day of class, I wanted something light and breezy and picked four of the items from Cool Pinks to help me out.

Silky Eyeshadow Duo in Indigo, $25

I don’t wear purple eyeshadow often ’cause when I do I tend to go overboard and end up looking like Barney in high heels, gah!

But the embossed floral pattern on the Silky Eyeshadow Duo won me over. I couldn’t resist!

First thing I noticed when I started playing with the shades were the touches of frosty pearl and glitter in both the shell pink and gray purple.

Typical of Estee Lauder’s textures, the creamy consistency makes both shadows easy to apply and blend. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+
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I dig that Stila’s Pomegranate Crush Lip and Cheek Stain ($24) totally looks like something you’d find in an art store.

Yah, I know it’s really a lip and cheek gel with a plum tint, but I swear if I could use it to write some spontaneous bathroom wall poetry I totally would.

Spontaneous Bathroom Wall Poetry: An Ode to Tabs

I have a cat named Tabs
He parties all night long
He wakes me up at four
Singing loud cat songs

Twisting the clicky bottom of the pen forces the gel out of the tip of the brush. I use it by lightly brushing the color onto my lips or cheeks and blending with a finger. It’s totally easy and kinda fun.

Last night El Hub and I decided to catch a movie. We were running late for the show, so I grabbed Pomegranate Crush on my way out the door and applied her in the car on the way to the theater (Gran Torino… SO GOOD!).

The gel creates a light red stain on my cheeks and a deep red-plum on my pucker. I feel just so-so about it on my cheeks but love the way it look on my lips. It’s the perfect shade of I-MADE-OUT-WITH-CHRISTIAN-BALE-FOR-HOURS red.

According to Stila, the product’s aptly named. It really does contain pomegranate extract, which, they say, reacts with your body’s natural pH levels, resulting in a shade of plum uniquely tied to your body chemistry.

I love the way it looks on me, but the staying power — that’s another story. It’s not the longest wearing lip stain in town, petering out in less than four hours on either my lips or cheeks.
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One of the more conservative collections this season

Dior went buck nekkid with the soft pinks, beiges and browns in the new Lady Dior collection.

I just tried a few of the new products and will post swatches when I have them, but so far … I’m interested but not in love.

The colors look natural and feminine to me but aren’t driving me wild.

I think one of the reasons I’m not falling head over heels over in love with this release is ’cause I’ve gotten a little more adventurous with color over the past few years, and I’ve seen some of these shades before.

Playing with these beiges and browns, I found myself wishing for a couple brighter roses and corals to balance out the nudes, like Chanel did with Bohemian Fantasy.

But, hey, if you like nude makeup, there’s plenty of it here to go around. 🙂

2 Colouers Eyeshadow Duo in Nude Look, $35

When it comes to the texture of their eyeshadows, Dior never fails to deliver. The matte grayish brown and the shimmery shell pink in the Nude Look duo ooze with intense color and blend flawlessly.

I would totes be into this duo more if the colors in it were more unusual.

But if you don’t have a huge eyeshadow collection or don’t have much experience with nude shades, Nude Look could be worth a splurge. They’re Dior, so you know you’re getting quality, and the colors are great basics to have around for work or school. The fine texture of these powders makes them practically fool-proof. Beginner approved! Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+

Dior Addict High Shine Lipcolor in New Look Beige ($26)

I have a suggestion. Dior should just call these lipstick crack. The texture of Addict feels slick and hydrating, and it’s, um, totally addictive, so it’s worthy of its name.

I found myself reaching for the tube every half hour. Maybe it’s the crack inside, LOL!

It makes lips look super shiny and doesn’t feel thick or heavy. Yup, I’m way crazy in love with this texture!

My only issue is with the color. Fo’ sho’ Addict feels great on my lips, but Nude Look Beige just doesn’t rock my boat because it looks so much like other pinkish beiges I’ve seen before. It’s a good every day color, though, especially if you’re looking for something that isn’t too flashy for work. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B
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Question: Can I get a what-what from all my girls who love dramatic eyelashes??

Until today, *no other* mascara came close to my beloved Chanel Exceptionnel ($30) for delivering the super thick and long, ultra-defined drag queen lashes that I crave.

Today, everything changed.

Make Up For Ever’s Smoky Lash mascara ($22) stole Exceptionnel’s spot to become my new number one. It similarly thickens, lengthens and separates lashes — and for eight dollars less, holla!

Hella nekkid, wimpy lashes… Damn you, Mother Nature!

Most thickening mascaras will clump into little mascara globules, but not Smoky Lash. It applies smoothly, even after multiple layers, almost like it’s seducing my lashes. It’s the James Bond of mascaras — smooth but deadly hot.

Not only does it make my lashes look exceptionally dark, thick and long, but I think they even look more defined with better separation.
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