let's get real

a couple of weeks ago, JU gave me the Bare Escentuals Real Fall 2007 Color Collection for my birthday. i could not wait to try it--so of course, the second i opened it at work, i used my fingers to put on one of the new eyeshadows and immediately applied the gloss. the packaging is so darn cute and what's inside is even better. there are 2 stand-outs for me: the Exquisite glimpse is aptly named (it's the perfect, classic beige that will work on its own for a natural face or layered with other colors) and the Sensational gloss is just that (it's such a pretty, shimmery beige--it's natural and neutral, but not boring). the legit liner shadow (purple), the real deal glimpse (green) and the first class blush (light, rosy pink with small amount of sparkle) are so pretty too.

it is well documented that i love bare escentuals, but i think what i love best is the healthy and empowering be-yourself-and-be-beautiful message that the company promotes.

random thoughts

so every magazine i've opened up in the last few weeks has heralded the return of lipstick. i can't help but wonder, where did it go in the first place? lipstick is back? really? when did it go away? i never stopped using it. should i have? no, but that's not what the magazines are telling me.

it wasnt like they werent being sold in stores. it wasnt like the brands werent coming out with new formulations and colors. so really, lipstick never went away. why are they telling me it did?

of course, i am the queen of glosses and for the most part, i wear a gloss every day (or a couple of different ones--i am like a mad scientist), but there are times when i wear lipstick. sometimes you just need the "done" lipstick look (and nothing can ever replace the perfect red lipstick). besides, i have my favorites that cannot be abandoned.

it just goes to show, you have to do what works for you and makes you feel good--because in the end that's what beauty is all about (at least it should be).

eye love this right now!

i am always on the hunt for a better concealer. as i've said, i have the worst dark circles ever. it's blackness under my eyes no matter how much sleep or rest i get. my friends try to be nice and tell me it's not bad, but the harsh truth is: it is that bad. i feel like i've tried everything. one time at the lancôme counter the makeup artist suggested i put pink lipliner and then concealer over it. sounds crazy, right? but i tried it because i hoped it would help. i am not sure how long i did it before i realized, 1) it wasn't working (i really wanted it to), 2) it was a lot of work rubbing pink lipliner under my eyes (the lipliner on it's own was really pretty, but i dont use lipliner) and 3) i looked like one of the zombies from 28 days later. i'd heard that the cle de peau concealer was amazing so i tried it at saks, but $65 seemed pretty steep--especially because after a few weeks, i give up on the product i am currently using and try to find something better. then i remembered reading somewhere (no clue where) that the max factor erase concealer was the cheap version of the clea de peau--and i have to admit, it's been working pretty well. i like the lipstick shape, it helps get right in the corners and under the lashes. plus for $4, it wont break the bank if i decide i want to try something else.

all that glitters

i noticed this a couple of weeks ago when i was in sephora helping J pick out a new lipstick. i had to restrain myself from picking it up right on the spot (it's a daily struggle--do i really need anything else? no, but i WANT it!). at first, i thought the rollerball could be messy--you might not be able to control how much product comes out--and this is how i talked myself into not buying it. then i went back today and really could not help myself (i have a problem, it's fine). all the colors are so pretty, but as soon as i saw the hydra all i could think of was fairy princess makeup. i almost can't wait for monday morning so that i can put this on--that's how excited i am about this!

the show's over

i waxed poetic about diorshow black out. i do love it--i think it would make everyone's lashes look amazing. long, full, extreme black shade. i love it when i put it on and then at night when i was my face, it looks like i was beaten up. that's the only drawback--it is hard to get off. i love it, but i hate it. i havent had this kind of a love/hate relationship with a product since urban decay midnight cowboy eyeshadow; loved the color and the sparkles, but hated that the big chunks got in my eyes.

so today i went on a mini sephora haul and picked up lancôme hypnôse. i've used it before and remember loving it then too. i feel like i am breaking up with a good friend.

who? what? WEN? where? how?

there are lots of women with lovely curly hair--and i'm not talking about celebrities, i mean regular women on the street--however, i am not one of them. i love other people's curly hair--just not mine. i'd pretty much given up on my hair UNTIL i tried WEN by Chaz Dean, an innovative cleansing conditioner. i am not going to lie, i saw it on QVC and was mesmerized by the before and afters, but i held off. i didn't actually believe that anything could help. tired after a long, hot summer of wearing my frizzy hair up in a clip, i went out on a limb, hoping against hope that it would work. then it finally arrived last week and i am HOOKED. HOOKED. i can't stop talking about the stuff and telling everyone i know that they must try this. it's amazing. AMAZING. i recently got a haircut and everyone was really complimentary (it's a good haircut); everyone asked if i'd touched the color. no, i said, it's the amazing WEN by chaz dean, which made my hair so shiny and bouncy. for the first time in my life i feel like i have nice hair.

avon calling!

EC got a new job at avon and we were devastated. how would we manage without EC? but she loves it so we're happy for her. and i love her job because she's given me some new things to try--and i love it all!

i've been wanting to try the anew clinical products for some time--i love the ads that market this product as the at-home alternative to a face lift. let me tell you, it was worth the wait to try these CEW award winners. the eye lift is amazing--there is an upper eye gel and an under eye cream--totally ingenious-- and it's designed to strengthen skin over time by boosting collagen and elastin production. the thermafirm face lifting cream features triple sonic technology™ and radio frequency waves to tighten skin and renew collagen growth. i keep asking my girlfriends if i look tighter and more lifted--and they keep looking at me like i am crazy, but they do answer positively. and let's face it, i just celebrated another birthday so i'm not getting any younger.

so pretty!

i love jennifer garner--i loved her on alias and i thought she was adorable and funny and charming in 13 going on 30. i thought she was hysterical hosting saturday night live--the walmart skit was awesome (AH KNOW!). i even watched elektra because of her. i love jenny garner--just love her, can't say it enough. every time i see her, i think she's one of those celebrities i feel like i could be friends with. (ok she's officially filing a restraining order against me). she's gorgeous, seems genuinely sweet and when she's in the tabloids it's not because she's making a fool of herself--what's not to love? apparently, she's also the new face of Neutrogena--i guess this was announced a while ago, but i just saw her in a commercial. i'd been wanting to try their new anti-oxidant age reverse products and now that she's the new spokesperson, i can't get myself to the store quick enough.

i am always rotating products, but the one thing that never ever changes is the sunscreen i use--and i use it religiously. i've been using neutrogena ultra sheer dry touch sunblock spf 55 for a couple of years now on top of the serum and moisturizer. i was even thinking of going up to spf 70 and then i got a hold of myself and realized that five days a week i am only outside 15 minutes in the morning walking to the subway and maybe 10 minutes during lunch. so spf 55 should be plenty.

why did i wait so long to try this?

i admit it: i stockpile products. at any point in time i can go in my medicine cabinet or other bathroom cabinet and find myself a new treat. it's not because i forget that they are there; it's because i am savoring it! i am waiting for the perfect moment. you know those wine people who hold on to a bottle of wine for that special occasion? well, that's me with beauty products. i am not sure what made last saturday the day to try the MAC fast response eye cream, but i am SO glad i did. it was in the medicine cabinet for months and every time i glanced at it, i would just pass it on by. and now i am kicking myself--kicking myself because i love it so much! it's a gel-type formula and while normally i dont think that gels provide me with nearly enough moisture, this one proves me wrong! it's a gel, but it also has a certain je ne sais vaseline quality that makes it super emollient. and the beauty of it is that it's not messy or goopy like vaseline. it goes on smoothly and stays in place--it doesn't run into my contacts at all (that is sometimes a problem for me). lesson learned: if you wait to long you might miss out on something you really love.