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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

L'Oreal 24 HR Infallible Eye Shadows in Perpetual Purple, Iced Latte, and Sultry Smoke


I picked up 3 more L'Oreal 24 HR Infallible eye shadows to add to my growing collection.  You can access my original review on these shadows here, so this one won't go into the level of detail I did then.  The three new shades I got were Perpetual Purple, Iced Latte, and Sultry Smoke. 

Perpetual Purple
Iced Latte
Iced Latte is quite shimmery and makes for a nice brow and inner eye highlighter.  Most of the Infallible shades do have a lot of shimmer, with only a few out of the collection having a matte finish.
Sultry Smoke
Sultry Smoke is the only matte Infallible shadow that I have, and I really like the color!  It does apply a bit patchy, so I have been using it on top of a cream shadow base.
Shown in sunlight
Shown in shade
Perpetual Purple above lash line,Golden Sage on lid

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Korres Quercetin and Oak Antiaging Eye Primer

Korres Quercetin & Oak Antiaging Eye Primer was part of the Quercetin & Oak 3 Step Prep kit in the light shade that I recently purchased.  This primer is marketed by Korres as:
  • Corrector: Apricot undertone instantly corrects imperfections on eyelid and underneath eye area
  • Crease Resistor: Provides a 360° smooth, even canvas on eyelid and underneath eye area for long-lasting, crease-proof shadow and concealer wear
  • Antiager: Smoothes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
One of the appeals of Korres to me is their ingredient philosophy:  "We believe that what we leave out of our products is as important as what we put in. We are committed to developing safe, effective, natural products by avoiding chemicals and synthetic ingredients when possible, replacing them with beneficial, skin-compatible, naturally-derived ingredients. Our products are further enriched with plant extracts."  They also have an admirable eco-consciousness, which you can read more about here.

Key ingredients in the eye primer are quercetin and oak (what Korres calls the quercetin formulation they use). Quercetin is a flavonoid with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory abilities found in fruits, vegetables, leaves and grains.  It is what gives fruits and vegetables their vibrant colors.  More information about quercetin and its potential skincare benefits can be found here.  Quercetin and oak in the eye primer is supposed to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.  This eye primer also contains hyaluronic acid, which binds water to the skin, thus providing moisturizing abilities


So how did the eye primer work? Overall, I'd give it a fair to good rating.  The consistency is a bit different than other eye primers I've used, in that it is not as smooth.  Again, Korres primers are silicone free, so that may be a contributing factor.  The primer does smooth out once blended, but you can see slight vestiges of it here on the right in my arm swatch.  I experienced color fading and some slight creasing after 6-8 hours.  As an under eye primer, it did have the benefit of not settling into fine lines, which I have experienced with other under eye primers such as Benefit's Stay Don't Stray.   Let's say that it worked well enough that I'll continue using it for it's antioxidant and moisturizing components.  It's not the best primer I've tried, but it's certainly not the worst either!

Here are some shots of my eyes at the beginning of the day (shot outdoors) and at the end of the day (shot indoors) after 10-12 hours of wear.





Monday, March 5, 2012

Korres Pomegranate Mattifying Face Primer

Korres Pomegranate Mattifying Face Primer is the second of the products I'll be reviewing from the Pomegranate Prescriptions Kit that I recently purchased.  Instructions say this can be used alone or on top of a moisturizer.  As described on Sephora's site, this primer is a clinically proven, universally nude shade that provides an invisible matte finish while minimizing the appearance of pores, balancing skintone and texture, and preparing skin for smooth makeup application and long-lasting wear. The 94% natural, non-comedogenic formula is water-based, which allows skin to breathe and does not clog pores.  Ingredients include antioxidant-rich pomegranate extract to help tighten pores, willow bark extract to balance skin, witch hazel water to mattify and tighten while removing excess oil and dirt, and rice starch to absorb excess surface oil and soften skin. 

So, this is a primer for normal to oily complexions that should be good for your skin, which is quite appealing!  It is silicone free, which is nice for those who experience problems with silicone formulations or do not like the feel of them.  The nude shade smooths out to a colorless finish, and I found myself using more of this than I did other primers.  I'm not sure why, other than it felt like I needed more to cover my face.  Perhaps it has to do with the lack of that silicone "slip" feel.   

So, how did it perform?  I've got extremely oily skin that did not appear less oily after using this.  As to extending the wear of my makeup, I could not tell a significant difference there either.  This primer retails for $33, so at that price I expect to be able to tell a difference, and I could not.  I'll use up the sample size that I have, but would not spring for the full size.  One small problem that most probably will not experience is that when I first opened the tube and removed the foil barrier on the tip, the plastic film was still left behind.  When I squeezed and experienced no product, I squeezed harder and experienced this huge gush.  Fortunately I had an empty jar to put it in.   


Sunday, March 4, 2012

Korres Pomegranate Mattifying Treatment

This will be the first in a series of reviews of the Korres products that I recently purchased.  Korres Pomegranate Mattifying Treatment is marketed as a lightweight face treatment that forms a breathable, oil absorbing film to mattify skin and refine the look of pores, and this sample sized tube was part of the Pomegranate Prescription Kit.  Key ingredients of the mattifying treatment are Pomegranate extract, Willow bark extract, and rice starch.  Instructions say to apply following your day cream, and I assumed you could also apply over a face primer as I don't believe this is designed to take the place of a primer.  It applies as a clear gel that dries down to a matte finish.

I've got extremely oily skin, so anything that could potentially reduce my oil slick is going to catch my eye.    I've tried a few other mattifying products, but nothing has worked well enough to justify repurchase, so I've still been on a quest.  Could this be it?

Sadly, no.  I so wanted to love this, but it proved to be an epic fail for me.  The downfall seems to be when you apply it with any other product, be it a moisturizer, a primer, or your foundation.  It pills terribly, which totally defeats the purpose, as you are essentially rubbing off the product.  After my first few tries with these results, I did some online searching to see if others experienced this (they did) and if there might be a solution.  Someone suggested applying over your foundation, so hope soared again and I tried that.  All that happened was that my foundation was dissolved and I still experienced pilling.  The only use I could see for this is if used over bare skin, as it doesn't pill up then.  That won't work for me though.  Does it mattify?  Not that I could tell, but since it rubbed off hard to say what its mattifying abilities are.

Pilling when applied over Korres Pomegranate face primer
Sad face.  Or should I say oily face, because that's still what I have:-(  My quest continues.








Saturday, March 3, 2012

Borghese Fango Brillante Brightening Mud Mask

fango:  clay or mud, especially a clay obtained from certain hot springs in Battaglio, Italy, used as a hot application in the treatment of certain diseases.   

Fango therapy is popular in Italian spas, and according to one source I read, the Italian government would subsidize fango therapy for it's citizens for a specified amount of time each year.  It's not as simple as just applying mud as a mask, but involves a 2-3 week process of multiple applications of the mud, followed by a bath in thermal water, perspiration reaction, and a stimulating massage - all prescribed by a physician.  Some research has shown that this therapy facilitates the release of endocrine hormones that decrease inflammation, and is effective in treating gout, obesity, and diabetes.  If you'd like to read more about the therapeutic aspects of mud, here is a good article. 

Fango therapy as practiced in Italy is a full body experience, so that explains why Borghese's Fango Brillante Brightening Mud Mask is for both the face and the body.  This particularly mud mask is supposed to also brighten the skin, and the pale pink color is a change from the typical gray or brown mud mask.  I received this deluxe sample size as part of one of my monthly Birchbox shipments, which is a nice way to sample products you might not come across otherwise. 

The mask has a slight floral smell to me.  After applying a thick layer to my just washed face, I can feel a slight tingling sensation.  Recommended use is once weekly for 5-10 minutes but I usually leave on for 20-30 minutes depending on what I'm doing.  This mud mask is supposed to be good for bringing toxins to the surface purifying the skin.  After removing the mask, I did find it easier to extract blemishes, so that part does seem true.  As to the brightening effect, I can't really say as my skin is not dull, so I'm not sure what the difference would be for me.  I do have some hyperpigmentation, but I'm doubting that once a week use would make a dent in that.

Overall, I like this mud mask!  Regular price is $33.50 for 7 oz. or $67.00 for 17.6 oz.
Ingredients:  Water (Aqua), Montmorillonite, Propylene Glycol, Imperata Cylindrica Root Extract, Citrus Unshiu Peel Extract, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Retinyl Palmitate, Fragrance (Parfum), Hydrolyzed Rice Bran Protein, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Polysorbate 20, Cellulose Gum, Hydroxyethycellulose, Glycerin, Collagen Amino Acids, Adenosine Triphosphate, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Hyaluronic Acid, Sea Salt (Maris Sali), Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Peg-8, Carbomer, Mineral Salts, Trisodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Red 7 (CI 15850).

Friday, March 2, 2012

N.Y.C. Extreme Lip Glider Lip Gloss

Sometime you get pleasantly surprised, and Extreme Lip Glider Lip Glosses did that for me!  The only other N.Y.C. product I've tried is a nail polish, but these glosses were marked 75% off at RiteAid this week so I thought, why not?  At .74 cents each, how bad could it be?  Well, not bad at all, in fact quite good!  These have a pleasant fruity smell (melon?), feel really nice on my lips, provide a subtle shimmer with just a hint of color, moisturize my lips enough that I'm not reaching for anything else, and wear for about 3 hours.  As I said, a pleasant surprise!



The moisturizing ability comes from vitamins A, C, and E as well as a complex of extracts and oils.  The long, narrow tubes have a slant tip applicator that applies just enough gloss without getting messy.  Plaza Punch was the more heavily pigmented of the three and actually provided color, wherease both Carnegie Mellon and Chelsea Rose gave more of a gloss with shimmer look.  The last photo shows Carnegie Mellon over Revlon's Candy Apple Red lip butter to get an idea of how these look over a more pigmented lip.

Carnegie Mellon

Plaza Punch

Chelsea Rose
Carnegie Mellon over Revlon's Candy Apple Red Lip Butter

These retail for $2.99 when not on sale and can be found at drug stores that carry N.Y.C.  Not sure how long the 75% sale at Rite Aid will last and the display was pretty picked over when I came across it, so best to look for these ASAP if you want them for the sale price.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Nail of the Day: Revlon Whimsical


Revlon Whimsical
This looked like spring in a bottle to me, quite appropriate given the murky rain this week that is punctuated by the bright azalea blooms Mobile is known for.  Revlon's Whimsical is a newer polish that is supposed to be a dupe for Deborah Lippmann's Glitter in the Air, which makes Whimsical's price of $4-5 quite appealing versus Glitter in the Air's price of $18.00.  However, I wasn't aware of that when it caught my eye, just that I thought it was pretty.




I've seen this polish described as a light blue gray, but mine looks more sea foam green to me.  Medium size teal and pink hexagon glitter, small silver hexagon glitter, and micro teal and blue glitter provide visual interest.  This is a sheer polish, so to get close to the color in the bottle I had to use 4 coats.  Even with four coats the glitter is not dense, so with fewer coats it may be hard to get even glitter distribution.  In the future, I'll layer this over a light aqua or a muted green.  I've got to say I like it better in the bottle than on me, as I'm not sure the color complements my skin tone.  Layering over a more vibrant color may solve that problem, however.




Revlon is currently 40% off at RiteAid, so I got this polish for $2.99.