Shine Relief: Mac's Prep + Prime Skin Refined Zone

While the rest of the country is enjoying fantastic, amazing spring weather, here in So Cal things haven't been quite so nice. We hit the triple digits this week, and with the AC in my hospital on the fritz (I'm basically living there this month, hence, the lack of posts), you can bet that my area was absurdly hot. It was hot and sticky and there was no relief in site. By noon each day I was a shiny mess and no amount of blotting paper (I love those Clean & Clear ones) or powder would help.

So, I dug through my box of recently received items (yes, a perk of the blog, I have way too much stuff around here, but not helpful when you move into a new place and have boxes and boxes of stuff you need to try out and write about...). Anyways, I'm getting off track. I looked through my box of tricks and found this recently released product from Mac. I also have the powder from this collection around here somewhere, but I seem to have misplaced it in my move across town. Hopefully I'll find it soon and report back. In the meantime, I'm loving this primer!

It's a milky white liquid that you apply under foundation. Be careful to apply it after your moisturizer is dry, otherwise they seem to kind of glom together, which makes it difficult to properly blend your foundation resulting in a not so great look. So, a light layer of this on the t-zone once your moisturizer is completely absorbed. It does dry pretty fast, about 60-90 seconds. You can't see or feel the product on your face, and if applied after your moisturizer is absorbed you'll be able to blend your foundation as usual.

The reason to do this? Matte skin. While I wasn't perfectly matte during this heat, this product did definitely keep me matte for most of the day, and I was only slightly shiny at the end of the day. Considering the crazy heat and how shiny everyone else was, this product was a huge success!

Mac's Prep + Prime Skin Refined Zone

Can a Hair Dryer Give You Instant Beachy Waves?

Have you seen this blow dryer yet?

Available at pretty much every drug store or big box store, this is a pretty unique blow dryer actually spins your hair around as it dries, creating waves. (See? That's my newly darker hair spinning around). The process does take a while. It takes a few minutes per "chunk" of hair, and the results are best if you use about 1" pieces at a time. Simply drop them into the chute and let it spin until mostly dry. My entire head takes about 15-20 minutes.

The end result is hair that looks like this. In person, it really looks like very loose dread locks almost. I let it finish drying on it's own, then finger comb through my hair. The result really is beachy waves that look fantastic and last for a long time!

While the initial time investment (15-20 minutes) is well over my normal time allotment in the morning to style my hair, I do like the results. I've been doing this on the weekends or if I have something I'd like wavy hair for.

Remington Emi Airwave: Dryer with Wave Attachment

The Mid-Winter Hand Ache: Barielle's Intensive Hand Treatment Cream

Continuing with my current hand cream obsession, here's a quick little review of Barielle's Intensive Hand Treatment Cream. Barielle can be a bit hard to find in stores. I've found it at places like ULTA, beauty supplies and it's nearly always at TJ Maxx (though with a not-so-stellar selection, grab what you want when you see it!). As well, you can order on-line.

This product is not your everyday hand cream. This is what to reach for when you really need moisture. Like now. STAT. This thick cream smells exactly like Nivea, Apply a coat and let it sink in. Barielle mentions enclosed cotton gloves in the directions, though I've never had them in the box when I've purchased this. I think people must steal them at TJ Maxx. In any case, they recommend putting on cotton gloves and then going to sleep. Just applying it alone I have had a dramatic increase in overall skin hydration, very similar to a paraffin hand treatment. This does leave a greasy film afterwards, so I recommend taking that into consideration before use.
Barielle's Intensive Hand Treatment Cream

Cynthia Rowley's Flower Fragrance

I'm a little late reviewing this fragrance. Honestly, it's been sitting here for a few months now, I meant to include it in all of the fragrance reviews I did this fall. But, writing about perfumes is not exactly easy, so it's been sitting in a box here.

I'm a bit sad that I didn't find it earlier because this really is a great fragrance! Cynthia Rowley says she wanted this fragrance to work for all the the women she designs for. Which I'm not sure what that means, because I'm still not sure who her target audience is. (Yes, that is a bit catty, and yes, I'm ending sentences inappropriately. However, I am not a professional writer, merely a blogger, and truly I do not know a grown woman that wears Rowley's clothes. I'm just saying.)

I've seen this fragrance described as "feminine and flirty, yet sophisticated," which sounds pretty appropriate. For me, this is a fragrance much like my beloved Bond No. 9 Eau de Noho. Both feature violet leaves heavily with a light floral to balance it and a base of Cashmere Woods. This fragrance starts out with a heavy Freesia note, which burns off in about 5-10 minutes leaving behind mostly Violet Leaves and a little bit of the Cashmere Wood. The Vanilla and Jasmine are also featured, creating a great violet scent that isn't too heavy.

Top Notes: Freesia, Citruses, Violet Leaf
Middle Notes: Lily, Water Lily, Jasmine
Base Notes: Musk, Cashmere Wood, Vanilla, Sandalwood

Overall I loved this fragrance, finding it perfect to wear during my work week. I only wish that it lasted a tad bit longer as it was pretty much gone by mid-afternoon.

Flower by Cynthia Rowley

Poshe Topcoats and Basecoats: Can They Fit into Your Manicure Routine?

I'm sure a lot of you know by now that I love nail polish and nail products. I admit that I'm frequently on the nail board over at Makeup Alley (though I comment a lot less now than I once did), and I have a huge nail polish collection.

I am pretty picky about what products I use. I expect to do a manicure quickly (I can get from polish removal to the end in under 10 minutes), I want my manicure to dry in under 10-15 minutes (at least to the point that I can do basic things, I don't expect to put on gloves), I want nice shine and I want 5-6 days of wear despite the rough things I do with my hands.

I have posted my manicure routine before, though that was a few years ago and I'm always up for revisiting products or tweaking my routine. So, while I had tried Poshe before, problems with shrinkage persisted and it wasn't a regular product of mine. They recently asked me to give it another try, this time paired with their base coat.

So, I set out on a massive trial process. I've been using the two products exclusively in combination with other brands. I've used them with OPI, Essie, China Glaze and Zoya nail polishes. I've added or deleted my Barielle treatment products. How did it go?

It went pretty well actually. I'm not sure if it was because I was using the top coat previously with other base coats, but when used with the Poshe Base Coat, I have no shrinkage issues. I have great shine from the Poshe (equal to Seche Vite, which is fantastic). I can type on my computer or do other basic things about 10 minutes after completing application. Application itself goes well and I think the Poshe is a bit less viscous than SV, which I know a lot of people will appreciate.

Wear seemed to be a little bit of an issue. I can't add in a Barielle product, it cuts wear to 2 days. But with the Poshe top coat and base coat all manicures pretty much last 5-6 days without a chip in sight. (One exception is Zoya, which seems to only last 2 days or so, but I seem to have Zoya issues. I'm taking the advice of my friend Michelle over at All Lacquered Up who thinks Zoya does best with its own top and base coats. I'm trialling that now.)

Overall, I was pretty happy with the Poshe products. Great wear, nice shine, no more issues with shrinkage. All that and it's pretty fast drying. What more could a girl ask for?



Poshe Fast Drying Basecoat & Topcoat

Product I'm Dramatically Overusing: Poshe Cuticle Care

Did you ever become so obsessed with a product that you want to using it, about 10x more each day than you probably should? But you really just do not care that you're overdoing it? Because you're addicted to the product?

Well, that's me right now with this cuticle cream from Poshe. It contains alpha hydroxy acids which help exfoliate your cuticles over time, keeping them in shape. Not a replacement for a cuticle remover, more of a maintenance product. And yes, you can overdo it with the AHAs, as evidenced by the slight stinging I had yesterday after my 10th application (I washed my hands and was fine, probably more like 2-3 applications a day max is reasonable.) I told you I was addicted to this stuff!

Well, with reasonable use of this product, I have flawless, hydrated cuticles. No more ragged edges, no painful hang nails.

And if you're thinking, didn't Christine write about a similar product before? Yes, I did. I admit that I fell off of the Cuticle Eraser band wagon after a year or so. Why? Suddenly all of my tubes separated into white clumps and oil. It was gross. The Poshe is more hydrating, creamier and I've had no separation issues. I prefer the Poshe over Cuticle Eraser.

Poshe AHA Cuticle Care

Elizabeth Arden's Prevage Line, How Are The Other Products?

I have a secret.

I have been holding out on you, my dear readers.

For months now I have been quietly enjoying more Prevage formulations, meaning to write about them, but of course, I've been distracted. Well, no more! I'll share them with you!

Prevage is one of the most popular anti-aging lines in the US. And for good reason! I've explained the active ingredients in the past (check out my night cream review here). Basically, incredibly powerful anti-oxidants.

While I've had great luck with the night cream, I really wanted to try out the other formulations in the line, so I've been using the new body lotion and the eye cream. Both products are also full of the same anti-oxidant technology. The whole line has the same light perfumed scent.

Do they work? I'm sure they do (check out those clinical results over in the night cream post, similar results for these products). I don't have wrinkles, so I can't comment on that. But, I feel that anti-oxidants are definitely indicated for prevention of aging, so I've been happy to include these in my daily routine.

The eye cream is very creamy (sorry, don't really have another word here), and it feels great as it absorbs into the skin. I do think it takes a minute or two to fully absorb, but when it does the eye area is perfectly prepared for makeup. I really do think it makes my concealer apply more easily and look better. Honestly, not every eye cream I try does this. I even love the tube this product comes in, it's air-tight, keeping the product as active as possible.

The body lotion is very hydrating, and while most of it does absorb right away there is a slight residue left behind. I actually really do like this, I'm not sure why. It makes me feel very soft and well hydrated. Is that weird? Anyways, this lotion is a bit expensive, but there are only a few anti-aging body lotions on the market. I'm trying to reserve this for the areas on my body that will age the fastest, so primarily my chest, shoulders and arms.

If your New Year's Resolution is to amp up your anti-aging routine you might want to check these products out.
Prevage Eye Anti-Aging Moisturizing Treatment
Prevage Body Total Transforming Anti-Aging Moisturizer