Any day of the week is a great day to obsess over beauty, but for some reason I think it’s just more fun to do on Saturday.
Hard to find French skin care lines…
I really dig French skin care products. Maybe it’s because they’re French; maybe it’s because I can’t understand anything on the labels — who knows? And the harder they are to find, the better!
Nuxe, one of my fave French brands, can be particularly hard to find here in the US. If you read beauty magazines, you’ve probably seen ads for Nuxe’s Huile Prodigieuse Multi Usage Dry Oil before. It hit the beauty scene a few years ago.
Nuxe specializes in using plant-based ingredients and aromatherapy in their products. They avoid compounds derived from animals, mineral oils and synthetic coloring agents. Oh, and their stuff generally smells really, really great, which is what drew me to the line in the first place.
There are only three stores in the San Francisco Bay Area that carry the line, and I’m lucky one of those stores, Beauty Expo in San Rafael, is just a hop, skip and a jump away. If you’d like to try the brand but haven’t been able to find it locally, Nuxe products are also available online from Beautyhabit.com.
Your girl has tried several Nuxe products, and two of my favorites have been Reve de Miel Ultra Comfortable Body Cream ($31) and Eau Demaquillante Cleansing Water ($22).
Reve de Miel is an all-over body moisturizer for dry, sensitive skin, chock-full of soothing and repairing botanicals like fir honey and macadamia nut oil. It moisturizes like a pro (on par with one of my holy grail moisturizers, Elizabeth Arden 8-Hour cream) and has a light honey scent. I cannot stand moisturizers that leave a greasy film, and Reve de Miel doesn’t. If you like Elizabeth Arden 8-Hour cream but don’t care for the herbal smell, consider Reve de Miel a potential alternative.
My bathroom here at home has a tiled floor that gets freezing cold in winter. The cold radiates up through the bath mat and fills the room. It can even get cold enough to discourage me from undressing to wash my neck before bed, so discovering micellar cleansing water a few months ago really helped remedy the neck washing situation. Unfortunately, I finally finished my bottle of Darphin Micellar Cleansing Water and just haven’t brought myself to pay the $50 again.
Nuxe’s own version of micellar cleansing water, Eau Demaquillante, works just as well as Darphin’s and costs less than half as much ($22 vs. $50). With it, I soak a cotton pad in the morning and night and quickly wash my neck and decollete. It lets me keep warm and toasty in my bathrobe at the same time, yay!
Eau Demaquillante is alcohol free and doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry or tight. It’s supposed to be fragrance free, but I detect a faint floral scent, which makes sense since it contains floral waters (rose, cornflower and lime blossom) and green tea. If my eyes look tired and puffy, I’ll lightly press a cotton pad drenched in Eau Demaquillante against them. It’s a refreshing and soothing treat.
Kitty wigs…
Just like former Poison frontman Bret Michaels (I swear that man wears a weave), your cat can have long flowing locks. Behold: Kitty Wigs, a Web site dedicated to coifing your cat in stylish wigs.
Why am I compelled to place a pink wig on a cat? I don’t know. First off, I don’t own a cat. Second, I usually can’t stand over-accessorized animals (but a tastefully bejeweled collar is fine). I’m sure there exists some deep seeded psychological explanation for this, but for now it eludes me.
Current lemming list…
Lemming \LEM-ing\. verb:
A slang term frequently used on beauty Web site and beauty blogs.
1. To desire.
2. To want to purchase.
Example: “I am lemming a tube of Viva Glam V lipstick.”
What I’m lemming right now:
Everything from the NARS spring Shanghi Lily color collection, especially…
Dolce Vita Lipgloss ($23)
Alhambra Duo Eyeshadow ($31)
Belle de Jour Velvet Matte Pencil ($23)
Terminators + eyeliner = awesomeness!
I am a not-so-closeted sci-fi geek, and one of my favorite sci-fi movie franchises of all time is Terminator. On Monday nights there’s a new show on TV, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and it’s frickin’ fantastic (of course, I also like cats with pink wigs). Cameron, one of the “good” Terminators, is played by actress Summer Glau.
Sure, the show has the usual save-the-world-from-destructive-evil-robots-who-want-to-enslave-humanity schtick, but last Monday’s episode also showed Cameron trying to perfect the art of pencil eyeliner (it’s hard for robots too, yo). She carries around a compact that I swear looks like Stila Convertible Color.
Looks like there’s a break in the rain, so I’m off to the gym and to run some errands. Later I’ll hit the mall to “just look at” the Nars spring color collection. I have a feeling, though, I’ll be adopting a tube of Dolce Vita lipgloss very soon. 🙂
Hope you are having a superb weekend so far!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
ohhh i really like the look of that lip pencil im really needing one in a colour something like that!
Although i think im gonna have to go on a makeup fast for a bit now I went on a bit of a brush spree today in Chanel oops!
I just picked up the single in Abyssinia! It’s a beautiful pearly neutral, perfect for a base shade (on light complexions) or brow bone! I also got a Shu shadow in neutral metallic brown (850), and the Lancome dual-ended eye pencil in Sunlight Rose! The eyeliner is really cool, it has a deep coffee-grounds brown liner on one end and the “photonic” shade on the other! A really fun combo for definition and brightening!
I also heard from the Laura Mercier counter-guy that the Neiman Marcus spring beauty event is happening in late February (I’m pretty sure he said Feb 23 through Mar 7), so ready your pocketbook to score some nice beauty bonuses! 🙂
I am so wanting to grab that pink wig for Princess Lily! She would stalk around the house growling at everything! Fierce glamour! 😀
And, ooh, Holly! Brush spree! Niiiiiiice!
Hi Holly,
I’m thinking I just might need the entire collection. The only thing holding me back is my constant state of makeup…it’s all over the frickin’ place. The other day I found a tube of concealer in the change compartment in my car. I have no idea how it got there!
Which brushes did you get? I need to vicariously live through your brush purchase! 🙂
Hi Glosslizard,
I have just a few NARS products but can’t wait to get more. I like their blushes and the famous Dolce Vita lipstick.
Sunlight Rose Pencil sounds hot. Must make a mental note to look into that 🙂
Oh yeah! Neiman Marcus Beauty Event, wooty woot woot! My friends at the Becca counter mentioned it a few weeks ago. I will hopefully be able to exercise enough self restraint so that I can treat myself to lunch at the Rotunda afterwards.
And I’m sure Princess Lily would rock that wig. She can wear it while she watches you put on makeup!
Hi Karen, im exactly the same with my makeup it turns up everywhere, i seem to have a million Chanel lipglosses scattered around my house and car and my stashes of chanel samples are taking over my life, everywhere i look there are mini skincare testers!
I bought the gorgeous contour face brush which i think you have a similar version of in the u.s. but it cant be the same because ours is so much more bloody expensive lol! and a tiny round headed eye shadow brush which is amazing for layering up dark colours because it applies so lightly and evenly, i dont think there is an equivalent in Chanel u.s unfortunately!
I did realize today though how much cheaper MAC is for you guys-so unfair! I really think i need to move!
Hi Holly,
Yeah, it seems like MAC’s a lot cheaper over here than overseas. Thank goodness for blogs and swatches and all that, so you can get a good idea of what’s worth taking home and what is just “eh.” I hope you stocked up when you were in NY. 🙂
I actually don’t have a small, round-headed brush that layers dark colors well. Is this the one you got?
http://uma.chanel.com/product.php?chnprd=MAMUB020
And speaking of makeup all over the placae, right now on my desk there’s a Shu Uemura lipgloss, eyeshadows, lipsticks, some different lotions, a Vincent Longo concealer, and an eyelash curler. 🙂
Hi Karen,
No thats not the one i got although i do have one which is very similar to that which i love! Our brush collection is completely different from yours so it is hard to compare really,
http://www.boots.com/shop/product_details_chanel_single.jsp?productid=1085943&chanelProductID=MAMUB14G
that is the one i bought today,
http://www.boots.com/shop/product_details_chanel_single.jsp?productid=1085925&chanelProductID=MAMUB147
and that is the facial contour brush which is probably the most amazing brush i have ever used!
I also use this brush for pretty much everything on my face, it is expensive but i have had it for a while now and it is still as if it is brand new:
http://www.boots.com/shop/product_details_chanel_single.jsp?productid=1085922&chanelProductID=MAMUB146
That website that i have pasted from is like the biggest chain of stores for beauty and toiletries in the UK. It is mainly like a HUGE drug store but the larger stores have the bigger beauty concessions too so its quite a good site to look at our goodies!
You’re right. Pink wig for a cat? They’ve gone mad. I favor a dog over the less-maintenance kitty. But that cat is sporting a pink wig that I’ve been trying to get my hands on lately. And something about stray cats (I was at Pearlridge today; have you ever noticed the amount of homeless cats there that just loom the parking lot?) definitely doesn’t scream hair accessories.
Ahaha! That cat!! Plus, it looks like my kitty (except for the pink hair of course!)
I love the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils! I have one in Damned, a deep, dark berry color, and it’s sooooo pretty!
Also, YAY! Summer Glau! I loved her on Firefly!
Dear Karen,
Just a little note from France, to tell you that i fell in love with your “make-up and beauty blog”…
My skin tone seems to be similar at yours, i use Laura Mercier’s foundations too(a mix with suntan-beige oil-free foundation and almond oil-free moisturizer).
And i also have a sensitive dry-oily skin, that is really difficult to treat…
In france, THE “eau micellaire” is créaline H2O from bioderma laboratory (the creator of this kind of watter).I think you should have to try it to cleanse your neck…
Thanks a lot for all your make-up and beauty advices.
Your french friend beauty addict… Sophie !!
Ooh those NARS stuff look awesome! I’m lemming Orgasm lip gloss, and Greek Holiday lip gloss myself! I wish there was NARS here in Singapore. Damn, I feel deprived! LOL
Pink wig for cats kinda look freaky. imagine it sits near your window around midnight?! haha.. I would like to try the multiple orgasm. too tempting. unfortunately I’m from asia country, rather hard to get.
i want so much nars, stuff at the moment its awful.
Im in paris, if there is anything you ever want please let me know id be more than happy to send some to you!
Ok i’m really dumb and ignorant but what really is the whole importance of cleansing the neck?
oh Karen-LOL-maybe cats in wigs are like dogs in sweaters??? I don’t know how it would stay on-my cat wouldn’t sit there like that. Plus the pink one kinda reminds me of Britney….ew. (poor girl).
I know all about lemmings-I have several right now-2 shu eyeshadows (grape purple and navy blue), I really want to try one of his rouge unlimited lipsticks, a brown mascara, the new tarte “swirl” gel blush, philosophy 3-1 in carrot cake (I *love* carrot cake-it was our wedding cake), the new cargo lola lipstick, and finally fresh sugar lipgloss in baby (I think that’s the name, anyway the peach one-I’m on a peach lippie kick).
I am very interested in that nuxe lotion! I love honey scents, and living in CO the winter is very, very hard on my skin. I will try to hunt it down, thanks for the tip.
And finally, regarding your sci-fi fandome-I haven’t gotten into Terminator, but Summer Glau is so awesome. Did you ever watch “Firefly”? It was a TV series on a few years back, that got cancelled before it’s time. You can get the whole thing on DVD now, a great rental, and Summer was one of the stars. Anyway, the series is a little bit crazy-it’s kind of a Western, but set in the future, and space. But it’s such a fun mix of drama and comedy. I recommend it if you need something else to watch! Oh, and I like stila’s convertible color in lillium, but peony is fab too-it’s darker than lillium.
It’s funny that here in Italy I can find Nuxe pretty much at every chemist while I’d give an arm and a leg to hava back Neutrogena.
I don’t know if it’s widely available in the US but all my friends swear by Avene Micellar Lotion.
Heya Karen!
Ooooh, I’m so into botanically based, hypoallergenic, no animal products or by-products, thanks for this post! How weird that I’m reading your blog and the EngMuff on the other end of the couch is actually watching the Connor show you mentioned (I’m obviously not a sci-fi fan that’s why I’m on the computer).
I agree with you on washing the neck, a lot of people forget that aging doesn’t stop on the face. It’s also like putting on foundation then stopping on the jaw line, big no-no especially if you’re taking photos later on.
I myself am lemming some Hip eye shadows. Let us know how your Nars “window shopping” went? Have a good rest of the weekend.
Karen…seriously…I love the kitty wigs…I love cats, but my allergies and apartment living prevent me from having one. I sent the link to two of my friends with cats though.
Hi Holly,
I didn’t know Boots sold Chanel. That’s hawt. I visited a few Boots stores when I went to the UK a few years ago and I went crazy and bought all these hair and body products of brands I never heard of before. 🙂
That facial contour brush looks dreamy. Wow, I want, I want!
Hey Mrs. Lynne,
LOL, I never noticed the strays at Pearlridge! I’ll ask my mom-in-law if there’s some sort of weird island story connected to the cats there.
Hey Mariah,
Awww, I love grey cats. They match the pink wigs perfectly, LOL.
Firefly was a really great show! A few years ago I had almost all of the episodes saved on Tivo for months. Did you see the movie?
Bonjour Sophie! 🙂
Thank you for your note. Wow, we’re practically Laura Mercier twins. That’s amazing. I’ll have to try mixing the two colors one of these days…
And thanks for the recommendation for Bioderma. Now the hunt begins. 🙂
Where in France are you from? I’ve only been to two places – Paris and the Loire Valley. I hope to go back, soon.
Hi Jane 🙂
That’s rough that you don’t have NARS there. I have it right down the street and it takes a lot of self control to not go there every day. Do you ever get to purchase it when you travel out of the country?
Hi Ping,
You don’t like the pink wig?!?! LOL. It cracks me up mostly, and freaks me out just a little.
I’ve had the Multiples on my “to buy/to try” lists for AGES. I have a similar stick illuminator from Laura Mercier and I just don’t reach for it often enough to justify buying more. 🙂
Do you have any brands for your country that you really like? I’m trying to learn more about Asian cosmetics brands.
Hi Zoe,
That’s so sweet of you! Thank you so much. I hope one of these days I’ll make it to France again so I can stock up…
Which NARS products are you lemming for? I gotta say the blushes are *amazing*. I used to have a pan of the blush “Amour” and unfortunately I lost it while I was in Paris. Yep, I wanted to cry.
Hi Amanda,
You know, I don’t hate dogs in sweaters! As long as the sweater is tasteful and the dog looks like it needs it (ie., it’s hella old or it’s got really short fur and the weather outside is freezing) I don’t mind. OH, and also as long as it isn’t accessory over kill. One sweater is fine, but a sweater, ribbons and booties (so ridiculous) combo is JUST WRONG.
The rouge unlimited lipsticks are really great. Every one I have is *very* hydrating and I love the texture. They never feel heavy on my lips, have decent staying power, and are very shiny! Do you need any recs? I have a few pretty ones in my stash. Lemme know…
I saw that Tarte swirl blush on the Sephora website. It looks really pretty. 🙂 I will def. check out Stila convertible color in Iillium and Peony. I am really getting in cream blushes!
I totally watched Firefly back in the day! Please tell me you saw the movie. 🙂
Hi Stregalice,
Thank you for the recommendation! I’ve heard fab things about Avene. I will put that on my list.
Neutrogena is one of the best drugstore brands here in the US, tis true. I really like their body stuff, some of their face stuff and select products in their color line. Did they used to sell the line in Italy? That really sucks when you find something you love and then poof, it’s gone.
Hi Lea!
How funny, what a coincidence. Yes, you will love Nuxe. I think there are a few places in SoCal where they sell it; I could’ve sworn I saw a few cities on the Web site. Everything I’ve tried from them is high quality … the only thing is though, that if you are sensitive to scent you might want to test the products out in person. While the products aren’t heavy in synthetic scents, the products are created with aroma-therapy in mind, so they aren’t fragrance free. They do smell great though!
Hi Megan!
That’s too bad. I’m not allergic, but I live in an apartment too and can’t have cats either. I just borrow the neighbor’s. I hope your friends like the kitty wigs…if anything, it’ll be a good laugh. 🙂
Happy Monday!
right now im lemming, mounia, luster and angelika blushes and frisky summer lipgloss.
Hi Zoe,
I want Angelika too! Very pretty.
I kinda am lemming their skin stuff, too.:)
any pics and/or recs for shu rouge unlimited would be great! only if you get a chance-I’ve browsed on the website but haven’t seen any in person yet, as the closest counter is about 1.5 hrs away. and you bet we watched the Firefly movie-it was so good, they need to do another. I do love how some of the “crew” is popping up on other TV shows now (Capt. Tightpants on Desp. Housewives, and Adam Baldwin on Chuck, and of course Summer).
Bonjour Karen,
You’re right, we’re practically Laura Mercier’s twins… But not only…When i read your fabulous blog, i really realize that we have jointly addictions, like mac’s brushes, mac’s pigments, Chanel’s make-up…
You have saved my hair from hay with the no-poo method. From now on, i have soft and shiny long hair.
And to answer your question, i’m from a town fairly near Lyon. Have you ever heard about Lyon?
I have ever been to the loire valley in 2005. I love so much “les chateaux de la loire”.It’s funny that you know this word ” loire” ’cause i was born in the “loire” department and my mum lives there.
I only have been once in Paris. It’s a very romantic place, and for that reason, my husband-to-be and i will spend our honey moon there on September. We will get maried on August 2th,our bithday both of us.
I hope you will come France soon and spend very good time there.
Your french friend beauty addict,
Sophie.
Hi Karen! I just wanted to thank you for inspiring me to start washing my neck. I’m really into skincare, especially preventing signs of aging but for some reason I have never thought to wash my neck. It makes sense because I put lotion, sunscreen, and somtimes make up on it. If I wash all that off my face (including nasty pollutants-I actually just read an article about always washing your face, even if you don’t wear make up because of that) why wouldn’t I wash that off my neck?
Thank you soo much, your blog is great!
Whose cat wants to be in drag?!?!! LOL
Hi Amanda,
I have some time on Friday so I’ll try and squeeze it in. 🙂 I have a few beiges and pinks and one red (?). Oh, and I have glosses too!
LOL, Cap’n Tightpants…I saw him on an episode of Buffy a while ago. Did you see him in the movie Waitress with Keri Russell? Total chick flick but a good one.
Bonjour Sophie,
Isn’t the no-poo method a life changing experience? I can’t believe I fried my hair for so many years with the constant shampooing. I’m so glad that the blog has helped you. It always makes me happy to hear that I can help people – helping others is one of the big reasons why this blog continues on 🙂
Congrats on your upcoming wedding! (The wedding day will come along faster than you know it, trust me!) That’s really cool that you guys were born on the same day! Is everything planned and most importantly, what does your dress look like?
I really hope to go back to France some day, if only to get my last name pronounced correctly. My last name is French and nobody here can pronounce it – the only folks who get it right are the Canadians and the occasional person from Trinidad, ha ha ha. Anyway, yes, I’ve heard of Lyon! I saw a travel show on it a few weeks ago. My goal is to some day learn decent enough French so that I can go to fashion week in Paris … then I’d like to travel all over the countryside and take a zillion pictures, drink wine and eat cheese. 🙂
Hope your week is going well!
Hi Maddie,
You are welcome! Seriously, you gotta start now, otherwise you’ll end up having a major neck complex…oh wait, that’s me, LOL. It sounds like you are good about the sunscreen, good girl! My favorite neck sunscreen, by the way, is Shiseido Face & Body. It’s waterproof and doesn’t leave me with that sticky neck feeling.
Do you have any favorite skin care lines or products? 🙂
LOLOLZ AppleDiva! That cat’s only in semi-drag. If it had some more sequins, and perhaps some false eyelashes though…
Hi 🙂
I’m new to reading your blog – it’s awesome!
I love the Sarah Connor Chronicles, Summer Glau is one of my favorite actresses and I’d been wondering what that pink compact she found was. Though it the show it was eyeshadow called Rash. You don’t happen to know the eyeshadow they used? It looked really pretty when she blinked her eyes at John, think it might have been glittery…