FancyLadyThings

#FancyLadyThings: Tom Ford FullScreen Lash Mascara

December 11th, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

At the intersection of Fancy Lady Lane and Tom Ford Beauty Boulevard, you’ll find me — hello! — standing at the crossroads waving a tube of the new FullScreen Lash Mascara, which is — clutch your pearls — $45.

Fullscreen is one of three new mascaras in the eyes-only Eyes of Tom Ford makeup collection (the others are Spike and Shutter), and when you say that, you have to whisper it all sexy-time because it’s the right thing to do.

And FullScreen is the one you want if you want natural-looking drama…which, admittedly, seems like a contradiction in terms, but picture your favorite set of natural-looking falsies that noticeably thicken and lengthen your lashes, and even hold a kick-@ss curl for a night-and-day difference, but still manage to look like lashes that a real human being could have been born with.

That’s FullScreen, except without the glue and cries of “Mother trucker! I just smudged my winged liner! Now I need to start over AGAIN!”

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#FancyLadyThings: $165 Fresh Crème Ancienne Supreme Eye Serum

November 14th, 2017 by Karen 19 Comments

fresh creme ancienne supreme — Fresh Crème Ancienne Supreme

European monks toiled over each and every drop of this $165 (!) eye serum to make it by hand.

BY HAND.

I can’t figure out if that’s marketing creativity at its best, or if it’s just craziness. (Side note: why monks and not nuns?)

#FancyLadyThings is a scandalous (not really) new series where we talk about old money, family intrigue and fancy, high-end beauty products… Or, at least the latter.

Fresh’s new Crème Ancienne Supreme Eye Serum is supposed to do a bit of everything — moisturize, lighten dark circles, and make fine lines look less noticeable. All that good stuff. And it’s supposed to do it for all skin types.

The Fresh fam loves using plant products in their skin care, and this has red ginger and silk tree bark, among other botanicals, and most of the plant extracts and oils appear in the top half of the ingredient list, which is always a promising sign.

Ingredients

Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Propanediol, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Albizia Julibrissin Bark Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Alpinia Galanga Leaf Extract, Commiphora Mukul Resin Extract, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Siegesbeckia Orientalis Extract, Tocopherol, Adenosine, Diglycerin, Polyacrylate-13, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Glycerides, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Chlorphenesin, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Polyisobutene, Poloxamer 407, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Hydroxide, Parfum (Fragrance), Disodium EDTA, Sorbitan Isostearate, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Polysorbate 20, Biosaccharide Gum-2, Caramel, Sodium Metabisulfite, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Salicylate

The first thing I noticed when I started using this is how moisturizing it is. It’s a heavy-duty hydrating formula, so it’s not like those eye serums that you put on your eyes and you’re like, “What? Did I just splash water on my face?” I feel confident that I can actually skip eye cream when I use this. It’s that moisturizing.

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#FancyLadyThings: Christian Louboutin Goldissima Gloss

November 8th, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

In #FancyLadyThings Land, it’s perfectly acceptable for you — in fact, you’re encouraged — to carry a sheer $85 nude peachy golden gloss in your Goyard Bag.

Christian Louboutin’s limited edition six-piece Metalinudes Loubilaque Lip Lacquer in Goldissima came out with a six-piece shimmery metallic collection last summer that included three $85 Lip Lacquers (also known as “glosses”) and three $50 nail polishes. Even though Goldissima was a summer launch, it’s wearable all year long, ESPECIALLY if you’re heading to Bali for the holidays this year. So YAY FOR THAT. 🙂

Oh, it’s also still available at counters and online.

Every #FancyLady needs at least one luxe lip gloss in her collection, and while a nude $85 golden peachy pink gloss would be cray-cray in the regular word, in #FancyLadyThings Land, this one is pretty fabulous.

It’s comfy, non-sticky and moisturizing, and there isn’t any grit whatsoever in the golden pearl, which is so key at any budget, right?

Even though Goldissima doesn’t feel sticky, the formula is on the thicker side. I’d say it’s even thicker than a MAC Lipglass. It stays practically glued to your lips. I get about three hours if I’m wearing it on its own or four hours on top of a lip liner.

The gloss is indubitably high quality, but you’re clearly also paying for the name — Christian Louboutin, maker of those famously expensive red-soled shoes — and the fancy packaging. Louboutin “presents” Goldissima in a huge black box stamped with the logo and lined in velvet on the inside, and the gloss tube is covered in a pattern reminiscent of mermaid scales…

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#FancyLadyThings: Oribe Côte d’Azur Polishing Body Scrub

November 3rd, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

oribe body scrub — Oribe Côte d’Azur Polishing Body Scrub ($65 for a 6.8-oz. jar)

Hey, so I’ve been walking around for the past few days smelling like I summer at the family beach house and winter at the chalet (both untrue), and both houses in this scenario, BTW, are mansions (of course). Both have also been in the family for generations (ridiculous), and this is entirely because I’ve been using a fancy-schmancy body scrub, of all things!

Oribe Côte d’Azur Polishing Body Scrub is $65 for a 6.8-oz. jar, which is crazy bad for a budget, but hey, this is #fancyladythings. If I were a lady who lunched in Chanel suits and pearls, I’d keep a jar of it in my bathroom on the regular, no doubt.

#FancyLadyThings is a scandalous (not really) new series where we’ll talk about old money, family intrigue and fancy, high-end beauty products… Or, at least the latter.

You might be familiar with Oribe. They’re a hair care line known for their expensive and high quality products (I like their Foundation Mist, Dry Texturizing Spray and their Root Touch Up Spray), all of which come in very perfume-like scents.

To me, everything they make smells like it was envisioned by a world-renowned Paris perfumer who caters to royalty and Rockefellers.

Côte d’Azur has notes of jasmine, bergamot and sandalwood, so it’s bright and summery. Those are the official notes. The unofficial note — the only one! — is old money.

It’s a sugar scrub made of fine sugar, so when I rub it on my skin, it feels soft, not sandpapery at all, and, after I rinse it off, there’s a thin layer of moisturizing oil left behind, as well as a scent that lingers — I’m not kidding — for at least a day.

Not to say that it’s a potent or obnoxious scent. It’s just VERY long lasting. After I dry myself off, I can smell it on my towels, on my robe, on my clothes, and I’m assuming that if you keep a boy toy around for kicks, you’d probably smell it on him, too, after you smothered him with your naked bod (!).

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