loreal

If I were on a surf trip right now somewhere miles from the nearest Sephora and had lost my precious tube of Urban Decay Cannonball mascara ($20), I’d head for the closest drugstore to grab an emergency tube of $9 L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Waterproof.

The original Million Lashes and I had issues with clumping when we spent time together last fall, but it looks like L’Oreal worked out some of the kinks this time around. The waterproof version doesn’t clump up on me, barely smudges at all and doesn’t drop a flake. It’s smoother than Ryan Gosling, and two layers deliver beautifully separated lashes able to hold a curl through three sweaty miles on the treadmill.

Not bad.

No kidding, this stuff is really, REALLY waterproof, which is great, but that also makes it a little tough to remove (without the right cleanser). I find myself having to use an extra pump of MAC Cleanse Off Oil, which barely blinks in the face of other mascaras, to thoroughly remove every trace.

As for lash length and volume, you know me. 🙂 It’s go drag or go home. In this case I’d love to see both attributes upgraded. If we were talking about Project Runway, L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Waterproof Mascara would be, like, the middle of the season, but I want the kind of length and volume we see in the finale at NY Fashion Week.

It’s almost there, but not quite. I think my lashes do look much longer and thicker wearing Urban Decay Cannonball, fo’ sho’. Of course, Cannonball costs more than twice the price.

Before (top) and after (bottom) two layers of L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes; Lloyd says hi, btw
[Continue reading…]

Adding to the list of things that keep me up at night (uncharted asteroids, coyotes howling in the distance, that one spider that got away, El Hub’s snoring), Tabs has been acting extra creepy lately, and it’s really freaking me out.

He’ll crawl into bed at night when I do and fall asleep beside me, but then, once or twice in the night, he’ll abruptly sit up on his haunches, which startles me awake, and stare intensely down the dark hallway as if he’s watching something (or someone)…

In the house!

El Hub says it’s probably just freaky cat senses detecting a twig drop half a mile away, but then he goes on to tell me about a story he read that claims cats may be able to see ghosts that humans can’t.

Oh, that’s great. Good to know. Thanks!

Long story short, this hasn’t been a good week for sleep, and I’ve getting up feeling and looking more tired than usual.

So when I came across the new $9 Double Extend Eye Illuminator Eyeliners from L’Oreal, I hoped they’d help disguise my fatigue. Each of the four dual-ended liners comes with a jewel-toned eyeliner on one end and a creamy off-white pencil on the other, with the eyeliner tip designed to enhance one’s natural color, and the off-white pencil tip designed to highlight and illuminate. Used together, both are supposed to brighten better than they would alone.

I gave Black Quartz, which is supposed to flatter brown eyes, and Black Crystal, which is designed for all eye colors, a try this week (haha, I almost typed “a tired this week”).

Black Crystal (left) and Black Quartz (right)

Black Crystal (left) and Black Quartz (right)
[Continue reading…]

Okay, so you know those new L’Oreal Colour Riche Le Glosses?

Um…kind of awesome.

They come in 16 colors across a wide range of finishes and different levels of coverage, and they feel fantastic on my lips — smooth, comfy and non-sticky. They also have a very faint vanilla flavor and scent.

L’Oreal gave them argan oil, omega 3’s and vitamin E to condition lips, and I gotta say, these are among the most moisturizing drugstore glosses I’ve ever worn.

I was surprised by how long the color lasts. Wear time is great for a non-sticky gloss. I get about three hours out of them, and they’re even able to survive a snack and a glass of water.

[Continue reading…]

Interesting, but is it a gimmick or actually an imaginative innovation? Either way, I gotta give it up to L’Oreal for at least trying something new. The contoured brush that comes with each of the four One Sweep Sculpting Blush Duos ($12.95 each) is designed to define and brighten cheeks at the exact same time.

Wait — how’s that?

Well, the compacts for Poppy, Nectar, Flush and Posh come with both a cheek blush and a sculpting powder (to define the cheek bones), as well as a special U-shaped brush to pick up and deposit both products in the same sweep.

Running the concave brush across the pan parallel to the center line loads it up with both colors, one on each side. I was fairly sure I’d end up with striped cheeks (how ’80s!), but the doohickey surprisingly worked.

Sort of.

Nectar (left) and Posh Chic (right)

[Continue reading…]

Four-leaf clovers, true love, pink diamonds and double rainbows all seem commonplace compared to eyeliners in dark, true black. The landscape is littered with supposedly black liners that, once they’re applied to skin, turn out to have undertones like green, brown and gray.

To put it mildly…that’s annoying, but it’s not a problem for L’Oreal’s new Extra-Intense Carbon Black Liquid Pencil Eyeliner ($9), an honest-to-goodness true black.

This enchanting ebony eyeliner doesn’t just skip on the funky undertones; it also skims across my lash and water lines with ease, where it lasts 10 straight hours, even through a few tears.

[Continue reading…]

Wearing L’Oreal Infallible Le Rouge Lipstick in 812 Opulent Organza

Ironically, L’Oreal claims their new Infallible Le Rouge Lipsticks last up to 10 hours on the lips. I’ve only been getting about 6, but I think that’s still pretty great. After all, no one’s infallible. 🙂 Not even L’Oreal.

Whenever I hear about a new long-wearing lipstick, I think, “Geez, I hope it’s not too thick.” It seems like a lot of them sacrifice comfort for longevity, but this time L’Oreal managed to achieve both. Not only does the lightweight, non-drying formula feel wonderful (almost like a good pair of pajama jeans!), but it doesn’t have that cloying floral fragrance the company frequently adds (they’re also unflavored).

As for how they look, I’d say it’s like a satiny matte. The colors are rich and pigmented, not flat or heavy, and they look rather polished on the lips.

Unfortunately, packaging isn’t one of their strong points. I find them awkward to use and hard to open. I actually knocked over a cup of tea trying to pry the cap from the tube yesterday, but at least the plastic feels sturdy…

From left to right: 812 Opulent Organza, 421 Charismatic Coral and 130 Enduring Berry
[Continue reading…]