MAC Expensive Pink Eye Shadow

This is an amazing pink with gold duo chrome. It is slightly dusty, and I think that it makes the perfect eye lid crease color. I've been combining it with matte shades in the taupe/light brown family during the day for work. This is another shadow I likely will stop using every day soon lest I use up the entire shadow!

MAC Neo Sci Fi

A Trip to the L'Oreal Paris Store and Finally! I Try Infallible Never Fail Lip Colour

Only a few people know of the L'Oreal Paris stores, they are somehow a very well kept secret. There are only two in the US and on my recent "Beauty Tour" with other Total Beauty Bloggers I finally visited the store in Beverly Hills!

Truly, this store is awesome. They have every L'Oreal product sold in the US. They have some that are no longer sold in the US because the color was discontinued (so try calling if your favorite lipstick is now gone). They even have items that are only sold in Europe!

They have a huge wall of all the hair colors and their staff is even trained on its use by the same colorist that creates the looks for L'Oreal's television commercials. Really. So, if you are part way through an at-home dye job you can call to ask a question!

I also loved the testing area. The entire center of the store is filled with testers of all the products and colors so you can try out all of the foundations to find the perfect one (and their makeup artists will help you out if you're stumped, like I was!)

I think my favorite part was the light pod. You go into a little room and hit a button. The lighting will change to simulate that lighting! It could be "Overcast Day" or "Indoor Florescent Lighting" and the room replicates it perfectly! You can use this room to test out the new foundation you just put on in a variety of lights or even try a new look for going out that night. I loved this room! In fact, when the group first arrived at L'Oreal Michelle and I pretty much were immediately in the light pod playing with the buttons. Meanwhile they were starting a presentation in the main store and we got called out! (Oops!) I was so enamored with the light pod that I forgot to take a picture, but Laurie from Beauty's Spot got a great one, so take a peek!

While at the store we were able to pick out some products to take home (I know you are jealous!) and then they gave us a cute bag with even more products to take home! So, watch for lots of upcoming L'Oreal reviews, especially of those Skin Genesis products that have been so hyped. I brought a lot of skin care to try out (big surprise, huh? I am a bit of a skin care nut!)


One of the products that I was most interested in trying out is the Infallible Never Fail Lip Colour. This is the one with Beyonce in the limo getting ready for the red carpet? With the lip color that is so perfect on her?

Personally, the only reason I haven't bought this product yet is my difficulty with picking a color. I stand in front of the selection at my local store rather often, not able to pick a shade. I think this is mostly because rather than being able to see the actual product, you see an opaque colored plastic container for the lip color. Who knows what color is really inside of that? What if it has a bit more gold or is too blue based? Well, at the L'Oreal store I was able to play with the colors (which are exactly the same color as that plastic, by the way). Amber of Beauty Blogging Junkie and I both ended up picking out Azalea as our color.

I love the idea of perfect lips that last for forever. How great is that for my crazy life? I already like Cover Girl Outlast, so this product has a lot to live up to.

So, how is it? The lip color is used exactly like the similar products from Cover Girl and Max Factor. A liquid color coat is applied much like a gloss with a clear shine balm that can be applied over it as often as wanted. The color applies easily and the color was very pretty! Within a minute or so the color is dried enough to apply the clear coat which is shiny, feels hydrating and lasts for a few hours.

The color promises 16 hours of wear, I think I was getting more like 12-14 hours of perfect lip color, the last few hours weren't as pretty. Don't try to reapply the color coat, once the clear coat has been applied a second color coat will basically crumble off of your lips (which is definitely not pretty!) It's probably best to simply remove with a makeup remover and start fresh if you need more color.

Next time I'm looking for a long wear lippie I will look more closely at the Infallible colors, I'm sure I'll want another color!

Infallible Never Fail Lip Colour
Images: L'Oreal Paris

Bioelements Review: Decongestant Cleanser

Everyone needs a good cleanser. You need one that cleans off all of your makeup, doesn't irritate your skin or overdry your skin resulting in after wash dryness.

I found just such a cleanser during my visit to Total Woman Day Spa, it was one of the products that I purchased upon the recommendation of Beth, my esthetician. I have been meaning to write about it, but somehow never really got around to it. Last month I finished my bottle, which meant I had "tested" myself through an entire full size product, I loved it so much!

This cleanser is gentle, rinsing off easily, causing me no irritation, no after wash tightness. Note that the main surfactant is SLS though, which in some people with sensitive skin can be too strong. Personally, I find it gentle enough that I can even use it to remove my eye makeup!

Ingredients (refer to the cleanser post):
Water
Sodium Laureth Sulfate: Surfactant
Cocamidopropyl Betain: Humectant
Lauramide DEA: Surfactant
Sodium Chloride: binding agent, table salt
Lavendula Angustifalia (Lavender) Oil: Anti-bacterial agent
Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Oil: Anti-oxidant
Salvia Sclarea (Clary Sage) Oil: Anti-Oxidant
Citrus Aurantium (petit grain cordillera) Oil: Fragrance, thought to improve redness
Citrus Aurantium (neroli) Oil: Fragrance, thought to improve redness
Lavendula Hybrida (Lavandin) Oil: fragrance
Panax Ginseng (Ginseng) Root Extract: I can find no known benefit to the skin, though Bioelements calls Gingseng a skin strengthener
Rhus Globra (Sumac) Extract: I can find no known benefit to the skin
Centella Asiatica (Gatu Kola) Extract: antioxidant
Angelica Polymorpha Sinesis (dong quail) Root Extract
Nasturtium Officianle (Watercress) Extract: anti-oxidant
Propylene Glycol: emollient
Diazolidinyl Urea: anti-bacterial preservative
Methylparaben: preservative
Propylparaben: preservative

Bioelements Decongestant Cleanser

Sunburn: A (Sometimes) Inevitable Problem That You Can Treat

In an effort to take advantage of living in California, my husband and I drove down to San Diego to check out the Padres' stadium (very nice). Did you hear about that absurdly long Padres Game on Sunday? Well, I took that picture from my seat, at that game. No, we did not stay for all 18 innings, luckily we left at the beginning of the 7th.

Unfortunately, I forgot my new Murad Sunscreen at home on the counter. Turns out that sunscreen doesn't work so well when it's still in the tube a hundred miles away rather than on your skin. So, I spent about 3 hours in direct sunlight with only my SPF 15 daily lotion to protect me! My husband (a real keeper) noticed I was "getting pink" and recommended heading for home. Unfortunately, the damage was already done and my nose and forehead turned a bit pink over the next few hours!

Fortunately, there are a few things that can be done to help ease the pain (and decrease the damage) of a sunburn!

Read on to learn how to treat a sunburn.


First, you'll need to understand the different phases of a sunburn:
• Immediate Redness: Occurs within minutes and fades
• Delayed Redness: Occurs after the immediate redness has faded and lasts for days
• Desquamation (peeling): Usually starts within the week

Note that all of these phases can be accompanied by different degrees of vascular permeability (basically, leaky blood vessels) that can result in swelling and blisters.

In addition, the UV damage induces actual DNA damage within the skin cells (the keratinocytes) which either then needs to be repaired by the skin or may result in cell death. The cell can never truly "fix" its DNA so this damage can build up over time and result in problems such as photo-aging of the skin or even cancer.


Things that help:
• Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Medications (Advil, Motrin): May decrease some of the early redness and decrease the degree of damage caused by the burn
• Ease the Pain & Itching: Itching can definitely make a bad sunburn much more uncomfortable! Try cool compresses or baths (avoid anything hot, either luke warm or slightly cool will be much more soothing), even cool lotions and creams will feel great, such as that aloe vera gel your mom used to keep in the fridge all summer long!
• Anti-histamines such as Benadryl will help with the itchiness but not the underlying issue.
• Moisturize! Applying lotion very liberally and frequently can help with itchiness and decrease peeling
• Vitamin E also helps to decrease redness and damage from a sunburn, but note that it needs to be applied pretty much as you are burning in order to see the effects. Perhaps make a ritual of applying a cream with Vitamin E after each sun exposure?
• Oral Vitamins have been shown to make a difference! Studies have shown that the combination of 2g (2000 mg) of Vitamin C with 1000 IU of Vitamin E will decrease the sunburn reaction while Carotenoids (25 mg/day) and 500 IU Vitamin E will protect you against the development of redness with sun exposure. Vitamin C also will decrease both damage from the sun as well as redness after exposure. Bottom line? Vitamins that have anti-oxidant activity are good! Eat your veggies or take a vitamin daily.

Things that don't help:
• Steroids, both oral and topical: Studies have shown that if the burn is bad enough it might be worth a try under a doctor's supervision, but usually only have very small effects on the degree of redness
• Never unroof any of the blisters. They are protecting the fragile skin beneath from infection, so allow them to slough off on their own over time.


Most Important Tips!
Your skin is much more prone to another burn in the week after a sunburn. Please take extra precautions to decrease your sun exposure during this time period!

Remember, any change in your skin's color means that damage has been caused! This is regardless of whether that color change is a tan or a burn. There is no such thing as safe tanning. Remember your sunscreen!

Images
Baseball copyright 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic
Aloe Vera- Ricky Romero, Flicker

Artemis Woman Heel Smoother: The Lazy Girl's Pedicure!

Almost exactly a year ago I told you about my new found love for the Artemis Woman Heel Smoother. This is a great product that I'm still loving and thought needed to be mentioned again with my "pretend" month of pedicures.

In the last year I've cut back a bit on my use of the heel smoother (I'm not using it about every 3 weeks or so), mostly because it can be very easily overused. It's very easy to use, I sit down in the shower and use the tips on my heels, any rough spots but mainly on the cuticle area. It makes quick work of smoothing my skin with very little effort. Truly, I do have to be careful to not over do it, as I just end up prone to blisters if I'm not paying attention! I love that my Heel Smoother is waterproof as well, making it very easy to use in the shower and rinse off afterwards.

Artemis Woman Heel Smoother


Great News! I have 1 Artemis Woman Heel Smoother to giveaway! I've decided to make this a short contest, so enter now!

Product I'm Loving: Anastasia Brow Gel

When I was at Anastasia this past week as part of the Total Beauty Tour I was seriously hiding behind the other bloggers. Why? I didn't want Anastasia to see my unruly brows! I was very embarrassed about my brow situation and lucky for me I (think) went unnoticed. However, if you want to see Anastasia at work, check out the great video that Laurie over Beauty's Spot took of Anastasia working her magic on Annie from Bella Sugar.

While I've since been "sorted out" by Elke, I have to admit that my brows are frequently a huge issue for me. They like to just stick up all over the place. So, when I got home and opened up my bag of products from Anastasia I was incredibly excited to find brow gel in the bag! I have tried pretty much every clear mascara, brow gel, wax or fixative on the market without great success. Nothing is able to keep my brows where I want them without becoming a big ugly flaky mess.

Until now.

I've finally found the perfect product, and it is holy grail worthy! This brow get is absolutely perfect. It's easily applied from the mascara wand, it's non-sticky, holds all day and never flakes. Truly, this is fantastic.

Anastasia Brow Gel

Polish of the Day: Essie Risky Business

According to Essie this is a "glam red meets shimmery tangerine," which to me looks like a bright orange-red but definitely tangerine! In person this polish color is even more beautiful than the picture suggests (although this picture is very true to life for the color on me). If you are afraid of joining in on the Orange Nail Trend, this is a more universally flattering and subtle way to do it!

This shade does look quite a bit lighter in direct sunlight (as you can see in the inset above), but then you can see the same color shimmer!

Polish Tip: Easy Polish Removal

Have you ever had a lot of difficulty removing a polish from your nails? Did you notice that a glitter polish takes about half an hour to remove from your nails? I learned this tip from the girls over at MUA's Nail Board and just had to share it with you!

Pictured above are my nail removal tools. I love the polish remover pots from Cutex, you can easily swirl your fingers around in the enclosed sponge to remove your polish. For every day removal they work great! They even come in "glitter" versions, which have a slightly more robust sponge.

For difficult to remove polish I resort to felt and Acetone. A piece of crafting felt can be easily cut into smaller squares, I like about 3 inches by 4 inches to remove polish from 10 fingers. Use with a bit of acetone and you'll find that you can remove almost anything! The felt is much better at removing any polish than a cotton pad, and when you can get 6 pieces out of a 20 cent piece of felt you'll realize that this is also a much cheaper option.

Polish of the Day: Essie Funships

Photoimaging Analysis: A Scary but Informative Picture

As much as I talk about sunscreen on this blog, I haven't always been so sun aware. I distinctly remember my mom slathering me with sunscreen when I was trying to play in the backyard or at the beach as a kid. In high school I would occasionally lay out in our back yard to get some color, though I was afraid of turning red and usually still wore SPF 15. In college I decided that the reason I had never been tan not because of my pale Irish skin but because of the sunscreen. So, for one summer I worshipped the sun with my roommate and without sunscreen. I finally was "tan" with the aide of sunless tanner. I have regretted that summer for years, and while I have good skin now I'd like to stay that way!

So, I took advantage of the complimentary photo-imaging analysis available at Calidora. They have quite a few locations, so check them out, there might be one near you!

Anyways, it was quite and painless and was quite a bit like the image above (not me, that's from their website). You put your head inside of the white box pictured on the left and a high tech camera takes a picture of the left side of your face (the "drivers side" that gets more sun exposure and therefore usually is worse than the right).

From that single image they can do a huge amount of analysis! First I saw a greatly magnified image of my face, then a UV filter that showed the "hidden damage" and even an image that aged me by 10 years! The software even analyzed my face for wrinkles, pore size, brown spots and smoothness of skin. That info was given to me as a comparable number against other females my age and skin type.

I'm proud to say that I did not have a single wrinkle, therefore I was in the 99th percentile, but my freckles dropped me down to 76th percentile for spots, pores had me at 60 and my texture was a disappointing 51. When I aged by 10 years I stayed wrinkle free but I did become one giant freckle, which really was rather alarming. They did tell me which treatments would help my issues (microdermabrasion for the texture and pore issues, a series of 5 laser treatments for the freckles/spotting), but there was absolutely no pressure to sign up for anything. I'm not quite ready to start lasering and having microdermabrasion treatments, but in a few years I might be. In the meantime seeing that image of me in 10 years was definitely enough to keep me slathering on high SPF sunscreen!

Calidora Skin Clinic

As an aside, in the past few days I have seen commercials from Coppertone promoting their DermaPhoto Booth, which does similar UV analysis. If you're interested the booth is on tour across the US, but the dates are very limited so I would show up early or check out a local skin clinic for analysis instead.