The Perfect Shade of Red

I have been hunting for red lipstick since I attended a Halloween party last year and realized I did not have any lipstick to wear with my Like A Virgin Era Madonna costume.   I never fantasized about wearing red lipstick every day, but it seemed to me that every fashionable woman should have a tube of red lipstick in her arsenal for emergencies.

Emergencies that may or may not include fingerless gloves.

I saw a picture of Drew Barrymore on the cover of a magazine once in a perfect shade of red and I became obsessed with finding what she was wearing.  Drew and I have similar coloring and her red lipstick looked grown-up but not trampy.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t discover the shade or even brand used in her cover photo, but I did make a mental note that the shade seemed to be a bluish red.

Flash forward to a few weeks ago and an ironically timed visit to the MAC cosmetic counter in the mall.  I was about 4 weeks into a self imposed shopping ban and nothing behind this counter was on my “must-have-to-survive list”.  But I had a few minutes to spare and an evening networking event to attend, so I figured I’d touch up my makeup for free.

I started playing with the different shades of red lipstick, and after several minutes I found myself digging into my discretionary spending fund envelope, officially breaking my no-shopping streak.  $14 later and I was the proud owner of one little black tube of Russian Red A40 by MAC.

MAC Russian Red lipstick in matte may just be the world’s most perfect shade of red.  The MAC website describes the color as “intense bluish-red”.  It’s bad ass and bold but doesn’t bring out the pink tones in my face or make me look goth or dead.  I also like that it’s remarkably versatile for red lipstick.  I’ve found that I prefer it with a dark lip liner underneath that deepens the shade a bit.

In addition to the color, the lipstick itself is fantastic.  It goes on smooth and lasts for hours without flaking or drying out my lips.  I know this because I was absolutely paranoid about the color fading or flaking or getting on my teeth, so I carried the little black tube of perfect with me all day and looked in the mirror constantly.

Here I am about 5 hours after my initial application:

I reapplied after lunch, but I’d be a little nervous about something that stayed on my skin through a full meal.

If you’ve ever considered a walk on the bold side or have yet to check “learn how to wear red lipstick” off your bucket list, try Russian Red lipstick by MAC.

To purchase Russian Red lipstick, your best bet is a local cosmetics counter or (if you’re really lucky) a MAC store.  Online, the MAC website is your most reliable source for this shade.  You’ll pay about $20 after shipping and handling.  Worth it.

Friday Flop: Fusion Beauty’s LipFusion Infatuation Lip Fattener… or I spent $31.03 on WHAT?

Hi, I’m Liza.  I blog at Cira’s Lyrics and can also be found on twitter.  When Britt put out the call for people to review and write at Buy-Her I was very excited to be a part of it as I’ve been an admirer of her blogs for a few years.

Today I thought we’d talk about Fusion Beauty’s LipFusion Infatuation Lip Fattener.

I have been on a quest since I was about 14 or 15 years old to get perfectly plumped lips (without a collagen injection because, well, a needle to my lips frankly scares the crap out of me).   Lets go back to where it started.  It was the early 1990′s.   I spent the summer babysitting kids who spent the summer playing outdoors at a friends house.  What’s on during the day?  Soaps I discovered.  Days of Our Lives.  Lisa Rinna played Billie Reed and I wanted lips.like.that.

….yeah.

Little did I know then you probably couldn’t get her lips, uh, naturally shall we say.  And truth be told maybe I don’t want them that big, but I would love them to be fuller and plumper.  Over the years I have spent time and money looking for the perfect plumper.  I have tried more than I can count, and even siphoned some from my sister when she wasn’t looking.  (Sorry Ali!)  Each one worked a little, just not enough for what I wanted.

I had read about Fusion Beauty’s LipFusion Infatuation Lip Plumper “the most revolutionary breakthrough in lip plumping technology” according to their website and thought my quest was finally over.   Heck, even Kim Kardashian is endorsing it so it Must be true, Right?    I went to Ulta and pondered over the colors.  Ultimately I like my lip plumper clear so I can put whatever I want on top or just leave it alone.  Since it doesn’t appear they make one clear I settled on one of the palest colors I could find and purchased ‘Angelic’ for $29 ($31.03 after tax).  This was more money than I would usually spend on a lip plumper but I was taking a chance.

The product is also advertised to be the “first liquid lip color with extraordinary Amplifat technology to increase and maintain body fat just where you need it most”.  This really is for me!  Lord knows I am still carrying what I can no longer call a post baby bump 3 years later from having 3 kids in the span of 18 months.  Body fat, I had that.  Results were supposed to occur within 10 minutes.

Let me say I desperately wanted this product to work.  Clean dry lips, check.  Started to apply.  The first thing that turned me off is the applicator looks like a tiny little paintbrush and the color spreads unevenly.  I felt like I was painting it on.  A minute or two later I barely felt a slight tingle on my lips.  Not bad I thought.  I’m not opposed to the tingle most lip plumpers give you but some people don’t like it.  Then I waited.

And waited…and waited.  Nothing.  No plump.at.all.  I spent a few days using this product and each time, still nothing.  Is it kissable at least?  Not according to my husband, he didn’t like the taste.  I was very disappointed with LipFusion Infatuation Lip Fattener.  Really it just seemed like a sticky not so easily applied gloss and nothing more.  This is not only the most money I’ve ever spent on a plumper but the first one that gave me no results at all.  Are you obsessed with plumper lips like I am?  Which products have worked great for you?

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…

A Way To Touch Up Mineral Makeup Without The Mess

My friend Megan introduced me to Bare Escentuals bareMinerals makeup a few months ago, and I have been in love ever since – with only one complaint.

I use the Bare Escentuals bareMinerals SPF 15 Foundation and the Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil to set the powder.  My only problem to date has been that there wasn’t a good way to apply touch ups to my makeup through out the day.  You see, although the mineral makeup has the amazing ability to provide great coverage while being super light and natural looking – it all comes in a loose powder form.  In other words, it’s really, really, messy.

Much too messy to stick a pot of foundation or mineral veil in your purse.  Which sucks, because a quick retouch of mineral veil at 4:00 in the afternoon gives you instant fresh face.

Thankfully, the good people at Bare Escentuals have answered my prayers in the form of a refillable buffing brush.

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Do drugstore eye primers work?

I have been trying to find ways to cut back on my beauty budget.

That means giving myself pedicures and at-home facials.  It means going a little longer between hair cuts and letting my girlfriends wax my eyebrows for me.  And it also means buying drugstore brands whenever possible.

Several weeks ago, I ran out of the eyelid primer I use to make my eyeliner smudge proof.  Instead of replenishing it immediately, I began searching for a drugstore eye primer.

A few trips up and down the beauty aisles of Wal-Mart and Target proved to be fruitless.  I turned to Google, thinking perhaps there was an alternative similar to my Monistat Chafing Gel As Foundation Primer that I hadn’t heard of.

What I discovered online were several reviews for L’Oreal’s De-Crease Eye Shadow Base.  It was the only eye makeup primer I found mentioned that would be available at a local drug store.  Fortunately, I thought, all of the reviews were positive.  This stuff, it seemed, was exactly what I was looking for!  And it would only cost about $8!

Someone on a Yahoo! beauty forum owes me $8.

I’m not sure what, exactly, L’Oreal’s De-Crease Eye Shadow Base is supposed to do.  Maybe it gives you a smoother surface for applying eye shadow.  My shadows did go on slightly better with the base than they did on bare skin.

But the number one reason I use an eyelid primer is to extend the life of my eye makeup – and this eye shadow base did absolutely nothing for me in that department.  I should have suspected as much when the primer/eye liner mixture washed off the back of my hand with water and a quick swipe.

While L’Oreal’s De-Crease Eye Shadow Base is half the cost of Bare Escentuals bareVitamins Prime Time Eyelid Primer, the bareVitamins Primer actually works.  It makes my eye shadow colors more vibrant, it mixes with my liner powder to give me smudge free eyeliner, and it makes all of my eye makeup stay on all day.

You can’t buy Bare Escentuals at Wal-Mart, but you will get a free sample product when you buy it from Sephora.

Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips – my most expensive lip gloss

I can’t believe I paid $18 this weekend to replace a tube of lip gloss that I lost.

But really – it’s that good.

So good, in fact, that I willingly endured another trip to my local ULTA so that I could plop down $18.  For lip gloss.

Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips is currently tied with Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer for my all time favorite lip gloss.  And while Burt’s Bees is awesome and only about $4.99 at a drugstore – I still couldn’t resist the urge to get my hands on another tube of Buxom Lips.

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Friday Flops: I hate my mascara

I have a confession.

I hate Maybeline’s Great Lash mascara.

I know, I know.  It’s supposed to be the holy grail of mascaras.  Every makeup artist I’ve ever been to has had the familiar pink and green tube in their makeup bag.  My mother has used it for as long as I can remember and she loves it.

Hell, I use it.

And I hate it.

Specifically, I use the waterproof version because I have this incredibly sexy habit of sweating.  Constantly.  From my face.  I’m also the world’s biggest cry baby.  Waterproof mascara is a must for me.

And Maybeline’s Great Lash waterproof mascara does stand up fine against water…

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Friday Flop: ULTA “Customer Service”

I came dangerously close to staging a riot at the local ULTA last week.

The only thing stopping me was the fact that I live 45 minutes away from a Sephora, and I couldn’t risk getting myself banned from the next best thing.  My principles, apparently, only run as deep as my need for overpriced cosmetics.

But boy I was pissed.

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Use Eyelid Primer for Smudge Proof Eyeliner

Getting your makeup to look good in the morning is easy.

Getting your makeup to still look good in the afternoon is like trying to live on a diet of chocolate cake and ice cream:

some people do it, but no one knows how.

I had tried every eyeliner known to man and still couldn’t keep my eyeliner from either disappearing completely or dissolving into smudge circles under my eyes.  I used liquid eyeliner, eyeliner pencils and even tried my hand at powder liner with an eyeliner brush.  All of it yielded the same results – fabulous at 9am and craptastic by noon.

And then a Bare Escentuals makeup artist changed my life forever.

Now my eye makeup stays perfectly in place until I wash my face at the end of the day.  My eyeliner survives rubbing, sweating and late afternoon naps without even a hint of smudging.

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Friday Flops: dr. brandt pores no more

All my life I had beautiful, perfect skin.

And then I moved to Florida.

Ever since my arrival in the Humidity Capital of The World, my skin has been waging a war against me.  The most noticeable difference has been the appearance of big, gaping holes in my face.  Apparently these are called pores.

And my pores?  You could lose a set of car keys in my pores.

Even with a full face of makeup on my face bears a striking resemblance to a golf ball – what with the millions of little divets and all.

The pores and I are not friends.

So, it was with great optimism and hope that I plunked down $45 for
dr. brandt pores no more.

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