Product Reviews

Sonia Kashuk Sheer Lip Glossing: Oh, That’s Rich

May 29th, 2008 by Karen 32 Comments

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Hot drugstore gloss alert! Sonia Kashuk’s Lip Glossing with No-Feather Pencil ($7.99) creates color-rich, high-shine lips … but there’s a catch (isn’t there always?).

Take a close look at the above picture. See how only half the tube contains gloss? The other half hides a lip pencil, which works a’ight, but it’s not on par with the gloss. If I could, I’d split the tube in half, take the gloss and ditch the pencil, but these two are a package deal, like the Sex and the City girls.

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The lipgloss packs intense color and shine; it’s almost hard to believe it’s a drugstore product. I like the light vanilla-lemon fragrance. As far as taste, it’s not a flavored lipgloss. The semi-sticky texture lasts about three hours per application. I have four of the 14 shades, and I LOVE THEM!

Sassy – shimmery peach
Precious – creamy coral
Vivacious – shimmery hot pink
Scandalous – creamy red

Sassy
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Clean and Clear Advantage Invisible Acne Patch

May 28th, 2008 by Karen 35 Comments

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When work deadlines and sleep loss collide, like they did for me last week, I expect to get a few zits on my face (sigh). My latest little sebaceous gift included a painful pimple right beside my left nostril. Like most women, I usually dread pimples, but this zit (I named her Eva) gave me the perfect excuse to try out Clean and Clear’s Invisible Acne Patch.

The product contains salicylic acid (2%) and creates a defensive barrier for pimples (like a transparent Band-Aid). It’s also makeup friendly, designed to be able to apply concealer and foundation on top of it.

Check out the handy-dandy, travel-friendly applicator pen, which I found fun to use. Twisting the bottom (it makes clicking sounds) deploys the product. It oozes out of the applicator tip.

Application is a cinch … like painting pimples. I coated Eva with a thin layer of clear goo which took about two minutes to dry. As it dried, I could could feel the skin around the area tightening somewhat. Once dry, the surface has an almost invisible, smooth, rubbery texture.

The product contains a smoothing ingredient Clean and Clear calls Chitosan PCA, a film-forming polymer that pulls up low points and pushes down high points on the skin.

I had a lot of fun testing this product. Over the weekend I tried it out with a few different concealers and found that MAC Select Moisturecover (a liquid, not a cream concealer) looked more natural and smooth on top of the Invisible Patch than other concealers did.

It took a bit of trial and error with Clean and Clear’s Invisible Acne Patch to determine the ideal quantity to use. It was easy to over-apply, which left me with thick, flaky, visible layers that peeled right off (eww!).

(Sidenote: At one point in my testing, I was two seconds away from taking a close-up photo of Eva in all of her Invisible Acne Patch glory when I realized that ya’ll don’t need to see my zits.)

This stuff works well for an over-the-counter acne treatment. I started using it on Friday, and by Sunday Eva looked smaller, wasn’t as red, nor was she as painful to the touch. She should be gone by the end of the week, hooray!
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MAC Wipes: Take It Off! Take It all Off!

May 26th, 2008 by Karen 49 Comments

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I’ve scoured the earth searching for the ideal makeup removing wipe. Okay, well, maybe not the earth, but I have scoured the Bay Area, and I have yet to find a wipe that doesn’t smell weird, doesn’t hurt my eyes, doesn’t cost too much or doesn’t dry out too quickly due to packaging design flaws.

Although I’ve tried wipes by so many other brands, I always resisted buying MAC Wipes because I just couldn’t bring myself to pay $24.50 per pack.

Then, a few weeks ago, before a trip to the MAC Pro Store, I did some long overdue makeup math. I’d just run out of Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes ($9 per pack of 25) and realized that the cost of the bulk pack of 100 MAC Wipes for $24.50 came out to just 25 cents per wipe (versus 36 cents/wipe for Neutrogena’s). Hello, bargain!

That day I bought my first pack of 100 MAC Wipes, and I’m glad I did.
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Kashuk Tools: 3 Bargain Makeup Brushes that Rock

May 26th, 2008 by Karen 46 Comments

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Bargain brush goddess Sonia Kashuk’s gone and done it again. Her Synthetic Flat Top Blusher Brush won me over a few weeks ago, and now I can’t live without several of the brushes from her Kashuk Tools line. I’ve been reaching for the Powder Brush ($19.99), Large Eye Shadow Brush ($12.99) and Angeled Eye Shadow Brush ($9.99) so often that I might as well have all three surgically attached to my hand.

Here’s why I love ’em, and why you might, too. 🙂

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Kashuk Tools Powder Brush

Use: To apply loose or pressed powder to the entire face
Price: $19.99
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

Confession time! I keep this brush on my work desk and periodically rub it all over my face for no reason other than to feel its softness against my skin. It sends me into a state of minor ecstasy. I’ll make ooh, ahh sounds, like when I’m eating dulce de leche ice cream. In general, I try to do this when nobody’s looking, but the other day El Hub caught me and said the act looked “kinda pervy.”

But Sonia’s powder brush has even more going for it than its amazing softness. It applies powder evenly on my skin, powder that doesn’t look caked-on, and leaves a lovely, natural finish I just adore.

If you’re tempted to save a few dollars by purchasing the $11.99 white-handled Powder Brush 01 from Sonia’s other Brush Collection line, resist the urge. I’ve used the white-handled brush, too, and it’s not nearly as soft.

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Large Eye Shadow Brush

Use: To apply eyeshadow to the entire eyelid area
Price: $12.99
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

Sonia’s Large Eye Shadow Brush multi-tasks like a mo-fo. The Kashuk brush brigade designed the thick, soft brush (with a slightly rounded edge) to apply eyeshadow over the entire lid — much like the MAC 252 Large Eye Shader Brush ($29). While I absolutely love the MAC 252 for fast, single washes of color over the entire eye, it doesn’t multi-task quite like Sonia’s Large Eye Shadow Brush does.

Not only do I use Sonia’s Large Eye Shadow Brush for color washes but also to apply color to specific parts of the eye, which I can’t really do with the 252. The rounded shape of Sonia’s brush fits nicely into nooks and crannies — ideal for the crease, under the brow bone or in the outer V.

In a pinch, it even works as a blending brush, too.
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Bobbi Brown Almost Bare Eau de Parfum: Boy Eau Boy

May 25th, 2008 by Karen 15 Comments

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If I could, I’d change the name of Bobbi Brown’s newest summer fragrance. It left the factory known as Almost Bare ($60), but Almost Boy may have been a more accurate moniker.

When I spritzed it on my wrist, I smelled bar soap, tree bark, crushed leaves and citrus rind; the very first thing the scent made me think of was how the Brawny paper towel man must smell after a shower.

Some of my favorite recent products by Bobbi Brown…

Long-Wear Cream Shadows create an easy, subtle eye look.

Lip Crayons are pretty and practical.

Beach Shower Gel smells like vacation in a tube.

Bobbi Brown calls Almost Bare a fresh floral and lists violet, muguet (Lily of the Valley) and jasmine as some of the individual notes within the fragrance, but I couldn’t detect them at all. The product’s more masculine notes — Italian bergamot (a citrus fruit), cedar and amber (a warm, kitchen-ey smell) — dominate the feminine notes, so, basically, it makes me smell like a dude. Sure, I smell like a clean, freshly washed dude (probably a very hot dude), but I still smell like a dude.

Bobbi Brown has marketed Almost Bare as a fragrance for women, but even the name seems a little masculine to me. The marketing folks probably meant to imply a subtle, undressed sexiness, but, honestly, when I hear Almost Bare I can’t help but picture bears. Yes, it’s weird, I know, but I can’t help it.

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Nor is it a very complex fragrance. It remains much the same throughout the day, unlike fragrances that transition through a range of different notes over time.

Bobbi Brown Almost Bare Eau de Parfum

Use: A slightly masculine summer fragrance
Price: $60 for 1.5 oz. bottle
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: C+

I may not have been Bobbi Brown’s target customer with Almost Bare. I gravitate toward girly-girl scents with lots of layers. Give me J’adore or Coco Mademoiselle, and I’m in heaven. Even though I typically prefer much more complex and feminine fragrances than Almost Bare, I do have to hand it to Bobbi for creating a perfume that perfectly reflects the company’s makeup aesthetic. For me, the Bobbi Brown makeup line evokes a minimalist, not overly-feminine design. Almost Bare’s simple, clean, unisex fragrance reflects their makeup philosophy to a tee.
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MAC Cosmetics Solar Field: More Warm Than Hot

May 21st, 2008 by Karen 32 Comments

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A companion to the just-released Neo Sci Fi collection, MAC’s new Solar Field boasts shimmery powders and bronzers to complement Neo Sci Fi’s summery pink, bronze and plum shades.

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Early this morning I visited my nearby Nordstrom MAC counter to check out MAC’s new releases. When I opened my first jar of Solar Bits, one of the Solar Field collection’s four loose highlighting powders for cheeks and eyes, I thought “spacey and weird.” The coarse, chunky powder made me think of the surface of Mars.

I’ve been told the MAC folks created the chunky texture on purpose. The chunks are highly condensed clusters of shimmery pigment.

The MAC Cosmetics website suggests using Solar Bits for a sheer wash of shimmer to highlight cheeks and eyes. Two synthetic brushes, MAC 168 Large Angled Contour Brush and MAC 239 Eye Shading Brush, are being sold as part of the collection.

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Crushing the chunks into a fine powder before applying seemed to produce more intense color and sparkle. I didn’t try to use Solar Bits this way, but I’m guessing you could also use it as an eyeshadow. I had a great time crushing the chunks down with my fingers when I swatched the colors on my arm and found the act weirdly satisfying, like popping bubble wrap.

I can see a number of uses for Solar Bits, but the stuff is flat-out messy, and that turned me off a little. The product got all over the place.

I liked all four colors (listed below) but wasn’t wow-ed enough to bring any of them home. Their versatility makes them worth checking out, though. Next time you visit a MAC counter, open a jar (carefully) and squash a few chunks. Trust me, it’s fun.

Solar Bits ($19.50)

Sunpower – light metallic tan with gold pearl
Black Ore – rich black with gold pearl
Scatterays – soft metallic peach with gold pearl
Bronzescape – clean yellow brown with gold pearl

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MAC Cosmetics Neo Sci Fi Review, Swatches: Beam Me Up, Scotty

May 21st, 2008 by Karen 61 Comments

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The odds of me falling in love with MAC’s newest collection, Neo Sci Fi, were higher than both Whitney Houston AND Bobby Brown in the late 90s.

Just put a label on my forehead that says, “Easy Prey.” First, there’s the bright orange packaging. Sure, it’s kinda highway-worker vest, but I think it’s fun and cheerful. Then there’s my weakness for warm shades of bronze, pink and plum, which headline the sunbaked, summertime collection.

And then there’s my not-so-secret penchant for, um, sci-fi. Did I ever tell ya that Terminator is one of my favorite movies of all time and that the sci-fi classic book Ender’s Game changed my life? Fo’ reals! In case you were wondering, no, I’ve never been to a Star Trek convention or to Comic-Con, but I have both on my list of things to do.

I was totally set up to fall hard for this collection. Hard!

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Neo Sci Fi hit MAC counters today, and I love pretty much everything about it. Electro ($14, a bright orange lipstick) and Pink Grapefruit ($14, an orange Lipglass) demand attention. I don’t usually dig orange makeup, either, but both of these shades really pop and would look great with a summer tan.

I’m definitely going to snatch up as many of the Neo Sci Fi Lipglasses (remember Soft & Slow last year’s Smoke Signals release?), lipsticks, blushes and polishes as I can.

I thought I’d go crazy over the eyeshadows, too, but they didn’t wow me as much as I thought they would. Surprisingly, the color I liked most was Expensive Pink, a warm gold-pink duochrome in MAC’s permanent eyeshadow color collection. Where have you been all my life, Expensive Pink? Love ya!

The entire Neo Sci Fi collection includes…

Lipsticks ($14)

Sci-Fi-Delity (frost) – burnt red with gold pearl
Pleasureseeker (glaze) – creamy peach
Astral (lustre) – mid-tone brown with red pearl
Electro (lustre) – bright orange
Sunsonic (frost) – white gold

From left to right: Sci-Fi-Delity, Pleasureseeker, Astral, Electro, Sunsonic
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Lipglasses ($14)

Supreme – bronzed brown with white pearl
Naked Space – creamy mid-tone nude peach
Pink Grapefruit – orange with gold pearl
Soft & Slow – mid-tone creamy plum

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Prescriptives Blue Grotto Kohl Eyeliner: A Smooth, Mediterranean Blue

May 20th, 2008 by Karen 36 Comments

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Prescriptives chose to call their new limited-edition Kohl Eye Pencil Blue Grotto ($18.50), but I can think of a few other names that would have suited it quite nicely, like Kohl Pencil So Fabulous, Better than Revenge On Your Ex or Beeyotch, Step Away From My Blue Eye Kohl!

If I’d worked with Prescriptives on the product naming committee, I might have just chosen to call it AWESOMENESS because it truly is one of the best liners I’ve used in months.

What sets Blue Grotto apart from most other pencils on the market? One word: smooOOoove. Applying color to delicate parts of the eye, like around the waterline, usually takes me a lot of effort. I end up having to run the pencil back and forth several times to deposit enough color, and then my eyes start watering and everything goes downhill from there. With Blue Grotto, though, there’s no tugging or the feeling of a hard pencil edge against my skin; just a soft, creamy formula that deposits rich color in just a few easy swipes.

And the color! Oh, the color… It reminds me of pictures of the Mediterranean, or a bottle of rich, dark blue ink. It’s a gorgeous blue and unlike any other in my current eye pencil collection.

The other thing I noticed was how it holds. On the waterline, the pencil’s long-wearing, water-resistant formula just lasts and lasts and lasts… The first swatch of the shade I did on the back of my hand was still visible after two days, during which time I showered twice. It finally came off with Lancome Bi-Facil makeup remover, whew!

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This past Saturday I wore Blue Grotto on my eyelid (the upper lash line). I drew a line, smudged it a bit with a MAC 219 pencil brush and then braved the heatwave to run some errands. After a full day of running around covered in sweat (it was HOT, yo), the liner still looked just as perfectly smudgy as it did when I left the house (Sidenote: Did you know the average person sweats about four cups of water per day?).
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