Oh, O-Gloss!

It was a rare impulse purchase for me. I was at the online checkout at Sephora and there was a box on the page featuring Smashbox O-Gloss lip gloss for the bargain price of $10 (it’s normally $22). I love to wear a simple lip gloss that just kisses my mouth with color on weekend days, so I thought why not? Into my cart it went.

The minute the box was dropped at my doorstep I swooped down, picked it up and brought my prizes inside. The O-Gloss was the first thing I grabbed because I was dying to try it. You see, O-Gloss is intuitive lip gloss. It knows exactly the right color for you (in spite of the fact that it’s never met you). I wanted to see what color was right for me. I swiped the at-first clear gloss on and suddenly it turned pink. Way-too-bright-for-my-taste pink.

Crap.

Sephora allows you to return slightly used products, but honestly, the reason I buy online is that I don’t have time to trot to the mall often. And I usually get “lost” in Sephora whenever I go anyway, so my wallet stood to lose more than the $10 I paid for the gloss. Plus, even though the color didn’t rock my socks, I loved the feel of the stuff.

Call it busy-ness, laziness or some combination of the two, but I decided I was going to make this stuff work. I wiped it off and tried apply a much smaller amount.

Ah ha.

There’s the trick (at least for me): Use it sparingly. It’s highly emollient and feels amazing on. Applied with a light hand, the color is just what I wanted from a gloss. It’s become my go-to on the weekend.

So, would I recommend O-Gloss? I would certainly recommend you try it. It’s good stuff. Would I buy it again at the full price of $22? Probably not. It will last me a long time, but there are other glosses that make me just as happy for a lot less cash.

Smashbox O-Gloss is available at Sephora, Drugstore.com/Beauty.com , Amazon.com  and other retailers that sell Smashbox products.

Tinted Moisturizer… as Goldilocks would say… “Just Right.”

Susannah here.  Known in very limited circles of the Internetwebs as PaintingChef.  I’m one of the newbies on this website and I’m quite excited to be involved.  Mostly I’ll be writing (long-winded and somewhat rambling) beauty product reviews, I’m a cosmetic junkie so I’m always trying something new, even if I’ve found my one true love and BFF of a product, I’ll still keep shopping… it’s a disease.  Let the healing begin!!

I have recently had a birthday, and as my mirror (and perhaps my mother) ever so gently informed me, maybe it is time to move beyond the Clinique Oil-Control Pressed Powder that I’ve been using since I was about 13.

Now, I won’t lie… in the skin department, I’m fairly lucky, even though I’m just now, at 33, realizing this.  My skin is pretty darn oily but apparently, according to all the internet gurus (i.e. Sephora, Mario Badescu and Facebook) this makes me lucky.  Because while it stains my pillows and makes me fight the teenage boys for elbow room in the Clearsil aisle at Walgreens, it also apparently keeps my skin from getting those fine lines and wrinkles that Diane Lane and Jennifer Garner keep hassling me about in the Neutrogena ads.

But… I’m a former smoker and I’m unable to leave my monthly chin-zit (oh yes… you know what I’m talking about) alone so I do have a couple of little lines, some dark spots that are scar-like because they never fully heal AND one large wrinkle on my forehead that is screaming for Botox.  (Lucky for my husband, my feet scream even louder for Italian shoes and I am, so far, un-botulism-ed).

So through a fortunate happenstance, a deluxe-sized sample of Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer came into my life.  I was already somewhat on the lookout for something more than a powder but less than a foundation.  I’m opposed to foundation for reasons too numerous to list here but they start with oily skin and end with me liking my summer tan and not wanting to hide its light under a layer of pancake makeup, thank you very much.

One evening as my husband and I were getting ready to meet some friends for dinner, I decided to give this tinted moisturizer a whirl.  My skin was looking less than glowing and those dark circles under my eyes were doing too good a job of tattling on me for the copious amount of rum I’d had the night before.  The instant that perfectly light moisturizer hit my skin, I was in love.  It was sheer coverage, blended in perfectly and easily with just my fingertips and was completely weightless.  I didn’t feel like I was wearing a thing on my skin.  (And did I mention the SPF 20!?!?  BONUS!)

After a quick coat of powder, I was floored by how flawless my skin looked.  But the real test (for me at least) was going to be how it wore over the course of an evening.  Have I mentioned that I’m a forehead sweater?  As soon as any kind of sunscreen hits my face, I break out into a sweat.  I also can’t wear any of those “luminizing creams” or facial highlighters.  Dewey?  Please.  I end up looking like I just ran a marathon.  (From the neck up… the rest of me still screams couch-potato.)

But I was AMAZED.  The Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer never made me feel oily, my pores never felt clogged.  The coverage stayed all evening.  And as a daytime trial the next day proved, it stayed all day as well.  My skin felt softer and smoother and looked FLAWLESS.  I even felt less oily and shiny hours after putting it on so I think it helped my powder stay in place as well!

After only using my deluxe sample (in Nude) three times, I went to Sephora’s website to get a full-sized tube.  I was a little shocked at the $42 dollar price tag but I still placed my order.  I ended up purchasing a shade darker in Bisque.  A little of this moisturizer goes a long way so I think this tube will last me a good 4 months at least.  Plus I further rationalize it by telling myself that it REALLY is two products in one.  I no longer use my regular moisturizer during the day before putting on my makeup.

A more inclusive look through Sephora, Drugstore.com and my local Walgreens taught me that tinted moisturizers are all over the place and I’m just late to the game.  There is also a good chance that if I took the time to look around, I could find a product comparable to the Laura Mercier one that is a little easier on my wallet.  But I’m too in love with this product to even consider something else.  I’ve also since learned that there IS an oil-free formula, something I missed the first time around.  While I have NO complaints about the oil levels in the product I’ve been using, I will probably, when what I have runs out, switch to the oil-free option as I try to make a habit of only using oil-free products on my skin.

So if you are looking for something more than a powder but lighter than foundation or maybe you just don’t like the feel of heavy makeup but need a little extra coverage, I would HIGHLY recommend that you look into this product.  Happy shopping!

While I did receive this product as a deluxe sample from Sephora, it was only because I already spend so much money on their website, it was NOT sent to me for the purpose of being reviewed.  That part was all me…

How To Straighten Curly Hair – A Video

While I am an advocate of embracing your natural hair texture, especially if you’ve been blessed with naturally curly hair, I am also a fan of the infamous Spice of Life: variety.

And that, my friends, is why I did a little happy dance when I figured out how to straighten my curly hair in less than 30 minutes.

If you can’t see this video, click here to watch it on YouTube.

Products listed after the jump.

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Sunless Tanners – and another reason to hate Lindsay Lohan

If you purchase a product “made” and/or endorsed by Lindsay Lohan, you deserve whatever happens to you.

I know this.  Anyone with common sense knows this.  And yet, I allowed the saleman with spiky hair at a Sephora in West Palm Beach convince me that Sevin Nyne Tanning Mist was a smart investment.  In my defense, Sephorais supposed to be more infallible than the pope, and he showed me how it works in the store. (The spiky haired salesman, not the pope.)  Plus, Sephora has the best return policy you can ask for, so I figured – what the hell?

Hell.  That’s a good word for the Sevin Nyne Tanning Mist experience.

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