lip gloss

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Pass it on: Rimmel Stay Glossy 3D Lip Gloss

At a business event a couple of months ago, I couldn’t help but admire a coworker’s lip color. Known for her bright smile and attention to detail, she looked perfectly polished and was sporting a pretty, slightly shimmery gloss.

When I told her how much I liked it, she happily confessed that she’s the queen of the bargain beauty find and that the gloss she was wearing could be found for a few dollars at any local drugstore.

The gloss was Rimmel London Stay Glossy 3D Lip Gloss. She raved about its smooth (not sticky) texture and staying power. I made a mental note to pick up a tube the next time I stumbled upon one. However, I was delighted and surprised when, a week or so later, she gifted me with one!

Rimmel Stay Glossy 3D Back Row SmoochIt was a tube of Back Row Smooch, a pretty and fairly neutral medium pink. It features a simple sponge-tip applicator that delivers just the right amount of gloss. As soon as I slicked it on I knew why she loved the texture; the gloss feels hydrating and silky smooth, not tacky or goopy. And while a 3D lipgloss might sound a little intense, it translates to a subtle iridescent effect that plays up your pout and is really quite flattering. I find that the initial shimmer wears off after about an hour, but the color lasts and my lips feel moisturized long after that. As an added bonus, my hair doesn’t instantly stick itself to my mouth when I’m wearing this stuff. It’s basically the holy grail of glosses.

Finding out about this little beauty gem definitely made my day and I just had to pass it on. If you’re in the market for a good gloss I highly recommend picking one up. Better yet, get two and share one with a friend.

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Organic Lip Gloss: A Natural Winner

Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss in Fig

Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss in Fig

I’d like to live in a world where every all-natural, organic beauty product is a cosmetic homerun; a world where less natural ingredients simply don’t work as well and the very presence of recycled packaging indicates a higher-quality concoction. Unfortunately, this is not usually the case. Don’t get me wrong, if I discover an earth-friendly product that rocks my world I immediately add it to my beauty repertoire. But more often than not, “natural” products leave me longing for something a little, well, prettier.

That’s why I was very pleasantly surprised by the pre-launch tube of Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss that came in my May Ipsy bag. Initially, Juice Beauty’s tagline, “The Organic Solution,” made me a bit weary of the product. I assumed the gloss would have an odd texture or unpleasant aroma. I was sure it would have virtually no staying power and that after one trial I’d probably throw it away or let it sink to the bottom of my makeup bag. Boy was I wrong. Not only did I not throw it away, I’ve become completely enthralled by it. It’s by far my favorite new cosmetic item of the season. I use it every morning, take it with me to work, and swipe some on anytime I head out at night, whether I’m meeting friends for dinner or running to the store for a late-night Sour Patch fix (I have a bit of a problem).

What makes this gloss so great – other than the whole good-for-you, good-for-the-planet thing – is how amazing it feels. It has the smoothest, silkiest texture. I really have never used a gloss that feels this smooth. It doesn’t have even the slightest bit of stickiness to it, meaning your hair won’t get caught it in and gunked up by it, as is the case with so many other glosses. And amazingly, considering the lack of stickiness, it has great staying power! In my experience, the lighter a lip gloss feels, the quicker it usually fades away. Not so with this gloss. One swipe lasts through sipping, talking, even kissing! And it passes the fiance kiss-test: the lack of sticky texture or weird scent means he doesn’t run off in search of a napkin the second I smooch him with this stuff on!

Speaking of scent, this has a very mild, sweet scent, almost like a citrusy cinnamon bun. It certainly isn’t overpowering and I don’t really notice it other than when I first remove the wand from the tube. I received the gloss in Fig, a rosy bronze shade that gives a pretty wash of color with a tiny hint of shimmer. It’s definitely my go-to summer gloss. When the days turn hot and humid I certainly don’t want to worry about some heavy lip product melting down my face. This gloss is so light and pretty, the only thing I’ll be worrying about is where to buy more of it.

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How to Avoid Becoming Bored With Your Own Face

First of all, I must apologize to my friend and loyal reader Danielle, who asked me to write about this issue months ago. It turns out, even a perfectly pretty, confident girl can find herself in a beauty rut, bored with her day-to-day makeup routine. Here, a few suggestions to switch things up and keep yourself looking – and feeling – sassy.

1. Wing it. Anybody who has read more than a couple of my posts knows that my number one piece of beauty advice is to curl your eyelashes. Whether you’re a dedicated lash-curler or a lash-curling virgin, winging out just your outer lashes is an easy way to change your look and add a little glamour to your day. You can use a regular eyelash curler and just crimp the very outside lashes, but a mini curler works better, and allows you to do more detail work. I like Vincent Longo’s mini lash curler. Follow with a coat of mascara and maybe a swipe of black liner along your upper lash line, and you’ll feel like a sexy old-time move starlet.

2. Add and Subtract. One of the most obvious ways to change your look is to stop doing something you always do and start doing something new. If you never leave the house without eyeliner, skip it. If you aren’t much of a blush-wearer, dust one on. Moving the focus from one part of your face to another will make you feel like a new woman, if only for a day.

3. Play with Textures. If you want to try something new but aren’t comfortable making a big change, try switching up your textures. If you always wear a matte lipstick, try a shiny gloss in the same shade. Swap your favorite eyeliner for a metallic version in the same color family. Little tweaks like this are subtle, and might just help you find a new favorite everyday item!

4. Try a Kiss of Color. A little color can go a long way. Adding a shot of brightness to your look can really jazz up the way you look and feel. Try a neon pink or orange lip gloss (I like Make Up For Ever Glossy Full Couleur Extreme Shine Lip Gloss) – it’s fun and surprisingly wearable. Or swipe on a bright blue or purple mascara and see how your eyes sparkle. The trick is to not try too many colors at once – you want to look sassy, not clownish.

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Pom’s the Word

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that pomegranate is a magical super-food that’s basically the fountain of youth and a cure for whatever ails you, all rolled into one creepy looking fruit.

I enjoy the occasional pomegranate-flavored beverage, but my latest beauty obsessions are leading me to believe that slathering yourself in pomegranate is an even better way to reap the benefits of the magical fruit.

I’ve mentioned it before, but right now I just can’t get enough of Murad Energizing Pomegranate Lip Protector. A subtle light pink tint and smooth, not sticky, formula make it a perfect daily lip moisturizer. It goes on like a gloss but feels like a balm, very soothing to dry lips. It has a lot of staying power, so a morning application lasts through much of the day, and with SPF 15, it’s sure to be a year-round favorite.

Speaking of year-round favorites, Korres Pomegranate Cleansing & Makeup Removing Wipes will likely be by my bedside from now straight through December. These pre-moistened wipes have a light fruity scent and take off makeup better than anything I’ve ever tried. Unlike most other cleansing wipes, these are generously sized – there’s plenty of cloth to make sure you get nice and clean. These towelettes leave my skin feeling soft and refreshed, but not too dry. No wonder they were advertised as a best seller at my local Sephora.

The cold winter months can wreak havoc on a girl’s skin and beauty routine, but thanks to these products I’m feeling like I have a fighting chance in the ongoing winter beauty battle.

Maybe pomegranate really is magical.

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Brand Crush: Buxom

Sometimes, like it or not, a brand is just plain good, and despite my best efforts to resist, I end up with a new brand crush.

My latest infatuation? Buxom.

I didn’t want to like this cosmetics line. Honestly, I just don’t like the word Buxom. But eventually I received a sample of Buxom lips, a sticky, sweet-smelling lip polish that plumps lips and looks AMAZING. It’s long-lasting, and I’ve been carrying a tube of the Sugar shade ever since.

But last week, my crush morphed into obsession when I decided to try Buxom Lash. This mascara is absolutely wonderful. It’s dark and makes lashes look long and thick. I’ve been using it for a week and have had no eye irritation, even after I forgot to wash it off one night before bed. It doesn’t flake, and lasted the full 15 hours I wore it before taking it off. It has also lasted through both sweat and tears. It just might be my favorite mascara of all time.

I think it’s love.

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Brighten Your Day

So, here we are, mid-February, still stuck in our winter clothes despite the beautiful resort wear spreads in all the fashion magazines. Outside the days are slowly getting longer, but the snow piles do not appear to be growing any smaller, and I don’t know about the rest of you, but my skin has reached that special level of pasty where it begins to glow in the dark.

It would be an understatement to say that I need a pick-me-up. And thanks to some new products from the Victoria’s Secret Beauty Rush line, I’ve got one.

Two products stand out for me, in quality, color, and price. The first is Beauty Rush Nail Paint, which I bought in the hot pink Berry Pretty shade. The color is fun and bright, and looks great with my (extremely) pale coloring. I painted my toenails with it over a week ago and it still hasn’t chipped or faded. And just having a tropical color on my nails makes me feel a little bit warmer and sunnier in general. Well worth the $6 I paid for the polish.

The second product was a gift from my best friend. She purchased a tube of the Beauty Rush Glossy Shinestick in Melon Out and loved it so much, she bought me one too. This is a sweet-smelling gloss that is super smooth and glossy, with a little punch of pretty pink color that has been bringing out my sassy side. I can’t help but smile whenever I wear the stuff, and it appears that other people can’t help but smile at me – at work, in the grocery store, on the street. Again, soft lips, a good mood, and smiles galore from everyone you meet; for less than ten bucks, how can you go wrong?

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That Really Chaps my Lips…

Here we are, mid-January, smack dab in the middle of indoor heating season and sub-zero temperatures outside. Despite gulping down as much water as I can stomach each day, and even with diligent application of lip balms and glosses, I’m being plagued by a persistent case of chapped lips. Even my trusty ol’ standby Burt’s Bees isn’t solving the problem. Here, some helpful hints on how to heal (and prevent) chapped lips.

1. Exfoliate. There are many ways to do this, and you may want to vary your technique depending on the severity of your situation. You can gently brush a dry toothbrush over your lips, or rub a dry, rough wash cloth over them to loosen dead skin and create a smoother, less irritated surface. If your mouth is really dry and burning, you can get some relief from Laura Gellar Lip Strip, a cooling sugar scrub designed especially for exfoliating dry lips. After massaging the scrub over your mouth for 30 seconds, you will enjoy a pleasant cooling sensation and a noticeable reduction in any flakes of skin that might have formed on your mouth. It is not a permanent solution, though, and you will definitely want to follow up with a balm of some sort.

2. Moisturize. Keep adding balms and glosses to your mouth to ease the dryness and help create a barrier against elements that worsen the situation. Right now I’m alternating between Burt’s Bees, an Avon lip moisturizer, and Philosophy Red Velvet Cake gloss (see page Glosses & Balms for more info). When my lips are really dry, I find that layering vaseline or a thick lip gloss on top of Burt’s Bees before bed is an extremely effective way to heal and moisturize chapped lips. After a few nights of that treatment and you should be back on track.

3. Hydrate. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, drinking plenty of hydrating fluids can help boost your health and your beauty. It helps keep your immune system up, keeps skin (and lips!) from becoming overly dry, and really adds a nice glow to your overall appearance. Keep a water bottle on your desk. And to all of those water-haters out there, do your skin a favor and try Crystal Light or some other on-the-go water flavoring trick. For about 5 calories you can turn a bottle of plain water into a delicious fruity drink. All while saving yourself the trouble of having to repair your poor chapped lips.

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Brand Crush: Clinique

It started a few weeks ago, when I went to the Clinique counter to buy my breast cancer awareness lip glosses and was rewarded with a gift with purchase: an apple-printed cosmetics bag filled with free lipstick, mascara, eye shadows, blush, and skincare products. I’m a sucker for free gifts, and those glosses were perfectly pink, moisturizing, and glossy. They have replaced all others in my purse.

Then, when my face turned scaly when I was plagued by the flu, it was Clinique Dramatically Different Moisture Lotion that soothed and repaired the damage.

The deal was officially sealed this past week, however, when I tried the tiny tube of Lash Doubling Mascara that came in my gift with purchase.

I have a brand crush on Clinique.

The glosses and moisturizer are great, but the mascara is PERFECT. It doesn’t clump, it doesn’t flake off onto my face, and it doesn’t irritate my extra sensitive eyes at all. I’ve been using it for about a week, and I’m loving the natural-but-better effect it is giving me.

My crush is sure to be continued once I open my mail today – I’m expecting a package from Sephora, containing, among other things, a jar of Clinique’s Even Better moisturizer, which is supposed to help even out skin tone. Plus Sephora offered a gift with purchase as well, so I’ll also be getting a Clinique cream blush.

Stay tuned for product reviews.

I’m sure I’ll love ’em.

 

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How to Survive Flu Season Without Looking Like a Reptile

I can safely say that it is officially cold and flu season, having spent the majority of the last week in bed with the worst cold/flu/allergy attack I can remember in recent history.

You might think that spending that much time in bed I’d be caught up on “beauty sleep” and would be positively glowing. Turns out, the only glow I’ve had is that of a fever, and I’ve been rockin’ the puffy-eyed, chapped lipped, dry skin look.

Not cute.

So, in light of my recent foolishness, here are some tips that I’ve found useful in escaping flu season without looking like a crocodile.

1. Stay hydrated. This will not only help speed along your recovery time, it will help keep you skin from becoming dry and cracked. I drank a lot of tea during my recent bout with dryness. Peppermint is my new favorite – it helps soothe a congested head!

2. Moisturize! Even if you can’t bear to drag yourself out of bed long enough to really spruce yourself up, do yourself a favor and always put on your moisturizer. My nose, cheeks and lips all became outrageously dry last week, to the point where the skin on my nose actually cracked and started bleeding. However, after just one application of Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisture Lotion, I was healed. I’ve been using it daily ever since.

3. Hand in hand with moisturizing your face is moisturizing your lips, and for that I say Burt’s Bees! I’ve been layering on various balms and glosses, but only Burt’s Bees was able to soothe and cure my chapped lips. And it’s fortunately available just about everywhere. Drug stores, grocery stores, health food stores, you name it. Get some!

4. Buy Puffs Plus. Totally worth the extra few cents.

5. If at all possible, drag your sick, tired butt out of bed and take a shower. It’ll make you feel like a human.

Following these steps will help ensure you make it out without scales. And these suggestions are all also guy-friendly, so feel free to pass them along to your boyfriend/husband/brother/whiney sick male friend.

I’m actually feeling much better and am mostly back on track, skin-wise. Although I’m currently sporting a volcanic pimple on my cheek.

Time for Queen Helene!

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Shop for the Cause

As I’m sure everyone knows by now, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To show support for the cause, virtually every designer and cosmetics company has created a special, limited edition pink product, the proceeds from which go to various breast cancer awareness and research organizations.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this week I’m urging readers to do two things. First of all, flip through all your October magazines, do a little online browsing, and find a pink product you just can’t live without. Some of my picks this year? Sonia Kashuk’s target line is featuring adorable pink makeup brushes, as well as a pink eyelash curler. Lacoste has several pink items available this month, including an alligator emblazoned towel. OPI has a pale pink lacquer called Pink Of Hearts that would make any girl’s feet look lovely. And my personal favorite, and the item I purchased for myself this week, a set of mini pink lip glosses from Clinique. They are the perfect way to perk up a pallid October face.

Secondly, do what you know you should and give yourself a self exam. Yes, you may feel a little silly feeling yourself up, but we should all be doing it monthly, so get used to it. I found a lump while I was still in college, and though it thankfully turned out to be a false alarm, it was a scary time and I’m diligent about doing my self exams. A few years ago, a close friend of mine found a lump that did have to be removed, but her early detection of it kept it from getting out of hand. All women, young and old, can benefit from doing regular exams. As my doctor has often pointed out to me, simply knowing what your breasts normally feel like will make it easy for you to detect any abnormalities.

So please, in honor of all of the aunts, mothers, grandmothers, sisters and friends who have battled or are battling breast cancer, remember to check yourself for any unusual lumps. Then go buy yourself a little something pretty.