Nail it

With summer fast approaching it's time to care for those feet and toes. After a DIY pedicure this weekend I reached for my bottle of Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Nail Lacquer in Stiletto Red about $4.50 from Walgreens, I got mine on sale for half that.
On first stroke, I thought where has this polish been all my life? What makes it so great? The brush. It's wider, flatter and sleeker than any other nail polish brush I have ever used, and I have used Sally Hansen, OPI, Essie, Hard Candy, Revlon, China Glaze, Chanel, Bobbi Brown, do I need to go on?
The brush makes the application ten times easier - wipe excess polish on the neck as per usual- it goes on thin not globby and spreads easily on the nail bed providing excellent coverage.
I used two coats plus base + top coat. My nails are shiny and with no air bubbles. I can't believe this brush isn't the industry standard.
The downside? This particular formula only comes in 9 shades, but I'm going to buy some more next chance I get. I have seen Rimmel on sale a lot so if you look around you can probably snag a bottle for what I paid - a little over two bucks.
With one fell brush this drugstore brand has stolen my loyalty to the $8 and over brands. Anyone want some China Glaze?

A clean slate

A new year means a new you. So much opportunity for change and self improvement. A clean slate. Whether you believe in resolutions or not, I am taking a good long look at my skin care regime and paring it down to get the most bang for my buck. Simplicity in one area in your life allows focus to be placed where it's needed - like losing those same 20 pounds or remembering to floss everyday.
So the bare bones anti-aging regime is retinol at night to improve tone and firmness and lessen the look of wrinkles and an antioxidant in the morning like Vitamin C, Vitamin E or green tea. Antioxidants help to repair the damage of age and sun.
I like Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Deep Wrinkle Moisture Night, $22 at drugstores. This cream hydrates, works on age spots and wrinkles, and gets really great reviews across the board. Put this cream on after cleansing at night.
In the morning, apply AvalonOrganics Vitamin C Renewal facial cream, $21 from www.avalonorganics.com, also available at Whole Foods and Wegmans. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant good for your body and skin. It helps fight the effects of free radicals. Free radicals cause age spots, loss of tone and firmness and yes, wrinkles.
Don't forget to cleanse skin well and it's important to wear sun protection - especially whilst using a retinoid product as skin can be more susceptible to sun damage.
My new skin care regime incorporates two of my new years' resolutions - frugality and self-care. Whatever your wish for 2012, better skin is easily obtainable with a quick trip to the drugstore.

All I want for Christmas...

Well, it's that time of year again. A super binge of compulsive overspending to show people our love -followed by a massive debt hangover in January. Sorry, my inner cynic just leaked out, but in keeping with all things Christmas I have decided to put together a list of things I want in my stocking. I will probably be getting none of these things this year since I am my own Santa, and these fall under the category of extravagances right now, but these are all things I really want from the world of beauty. Maybe next year...

1. Le Mer Creme de Le Mer. $135 for 1 ounce at Neiman Marcus. I have wanted this iconic cream for a long time - ever since I read about the magical broth concocted from the sea. One day this will be mine.

2. Rodin Olio Lusso face oil. $140 for 1 once from the website. Another trendy concoction I really want (need) made from 11 essential oils, and seemingly on every beauty insider's vanity.

3. Philip B Russian Imperial Amber Shampoo $50 for 3 ounces available from the Philip B website. I read an article on this shampoo stating it was the most perfect shampoo ever tried. The author said it seemed to make magic by granting the user her inner most hair desire. This product has been on the back burner in my mind for awhile.

4. Chantecaille Real Skin gel foundation, $65 at Neiman Marcus. I have used this, and it's dreamy. A lightweight foundation that gives skin a dewy glow. Chantecaille makes a face cream with real gold in it, but that is just over the top - even for me.

5. Prada Infusion D'Iris, 1.7 ounces, $78 at Sephora - a lovely fresh floral scent with a hint of citrus.

6. The Lashstash gift set from Sephora, $45 - 11(!) different mascaras to compare and contrast. I did receive this one year and had so much fun putting on a new mascara everyday.

7. Any candle and or perfume from Tocca. I wear their Florence perfume and have used their body products before. I would love their collection of travel-sized candles for $42 from their website, or an assortment of full sized candles and laundry wash. Their scents are romantic, but light.

Maybe Santa will bring me something from my wishlist this year, and if not well, my birthday is just around the corner.

Seasons greetings, beauty junkies!

Testing, testing, 1 -2- 3

So I tested three new products by Maybelline last week. I wanted to see if a drugstore brand could deliver boutique beauty at a bargain price. At best I would have some great new products for my beauty bag - at worst I wouldn't be out much money in my own unscientific version of a clinical trial.
1. Great Lash, Lots of Lashes - the claim - "gets to each and every lash with precision for lots of volume from corner to corner" Eh, it's ok. I'm a fan of the original Great Lash. This version has a cute brush and it's a serviceable mascara. Yes, it coated each and every lash, but lots of lashes? Not really. I wasn't blown away, and I'll probably go back to using my Mally or Benefit. About $6.50 at drugstores.
2. Baby Lips - the claim - women's lips were "82% less dry, 94% less rough, 77% more supple, 77% better looking lips" after four weeks in a clinical trial.
I'm a sucker for cute packaging, and Baby Lips has it. This product is a winner. I bought two. One tinted in Pink Punch and one clear in Quenched. I kept the clear in my bedroom to apply at night and the tinted one in my bag to apply throughout the day. I love the way it feels on the lips. I can't tell you if my lips were 77% more supple, but my lips felt great while wearing this and the softness lingered after it wore off. The tubes are super cute and the tinted one actually delivered a bright pop of unfussy, sheer color. This is going on my beauty gift list next month. Buy a bunch of these to scatter around. Love this product. About $4 at drugstores.
3. Eye Studio Master Drama eyeliner - the claim - "created with the highest concentration of pigments for more intense eye drama."
I was excited when I first used this eyeliner in Midnight Master (black). The pigment is intense like Maybelline claims. It glides on like a gel and I made a nice, thick cat's eye on my upper lids. However, it's an automatic pencil, so there is no way to sharpen it. After the point is gone, there is no way to get precision lines with this. I'm going to stick with Urban Decay's 24/7 pencil or Bobbi Brown's gel eyeliner applied with a brush. About $6.50 at Target.

Baby Lips is a clear winner, delivering on its promise at a bargain price. So glad I tried it. The others barely passed, and I think I'll pass on giving them a permanent place in my bag of tricks.

Coming soon...

Hi beauty junkies,

Happy Fall.
Coming soon I'm going to review three new Maybelline products that have intrigued me.
Baby Lips, Great Lash Lots of Lashes and master drama eye liner.
All three products promise high performance results at drugstore prices. I'm going to put them to the test and let you know how they work and if they deliver or simply fall flat.
See you, soon!

Surf's up

As I write this I need a sweater. There is a definite fall chill in the air, and I am stubbornly pretending it's not there. My feet are in flip flops and my hair is tousled in beachy waves - my favorite hairstyle.
So when I saw Bumble & Bumble made Surf Spray I knew I had to try it. It's $23 for 4 oz. at Sephora. You are supposed to spray it in damp hair and let it air dry or blow dry with a diffuser ( I haven't had one of those since the early 90s. )
I have been using it for awhile and my hair looks better when I use it then when I don't. I put it in damp and dry hair. I find I need quite a bit of the spray to do its magic. So I'm on the fence about recommending it for the price. I do like it, but this girl is learning to live life on a budget. But for now, I am enjoying my wavy, beachy hair and dreaming of next summer.

Found and Lost

I am in the process of cleaning out my basement/life/chest of drawers/fill-in-the-blank.  A few weeks ago, as I removed a trash bag filled with my sad luggage of the past - complete with unpleasant moldy basement smell, I stumbled upon a Lancome lipstick that brought my past right to the present. Matte Bourdeaux, a color I wore in high school and college. I always had my skin pale and that delicious dark, burgundy red on my lips.
That was part of my post-post-punk uniform. I held that lipstick in my hand and happy memories came marching in to that brain place they go. I uncapped it, screwed it up and looked at it. Half-way gone in the way all my lipsticks look, curved to a fine, thin tip. I took a whiff and thought can I keep this? My finders glee mingled with my fear of germs and mold. In the end my fear and nose won. I threw it away.
I think I have thought about that lipstick every day since. I searched Lancome and it's discontinued- long ago probably. My Matte Bordeaux lips were my signature back then; I don't have a signature look anymore.
The 80s were a time for the signature look - the Madonna girls, the new wave girls, the punks, the skinheads, the metal heads, the stoners, the preppies.  There were more I'm sure, but I can't remember from my 40 year old-haze.
It was kind of cool having the ability with clothes and makeup to define your politics, feelings or interests. Things nowadays in fashion seem very homogenized, but back then a pair of wine-red lips had the power to set you apart.