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Monthly Archives: July 2009
Clinique Vitamin C Lip Smoothie Antioxidant Lip Colour
Mmm, smoothies. For your lips. How could you not love that?
This is one of Clinique's Vitamin C Lip Smoothie Antioxidant Lip Colour which is a very big name for such a little thing. It may be little, though, but it won't surprise you to know that this contains Vitamin C and – yes! – lots of antioxidants, so it should be comfortable to wear and nourishing on the lips as well as being, well, pretty.
My lips are in need of some TLC at the moment, so it was the nourishing properties of this that caught my attention, but it also comes in lots of lovely colours, including one called "Goodeness Grapecious". And I don't care what that colour looks like: I want it.
BUY: Clinique Vitamin C Lip Smoothie Antioxidant Lip Colour, £13.50
Dollface Reviews: Garnier Pure Active Deep Pore Wash & Blackhead Scrub
I've been trying out some of Garnier's Pure Active range this week: I'm going to leave the Spot-On Roll On review until next week, because it just so happens that I woke up this morning with a corker of a spot on my chin which, while annoying, will at least give me something to test the Roll-On with properly.
Mostly, then, I've been using the Blackhead Scrub and the Deep Pore Wash, both of which are designed for spot-prone skin, and have formulas which help treat existing spots, and the marks they leave behind, and prevent them from recurring.
Now, I should say here that I;m not the ideal test subject for these products because I don't have particularly spot-prone skin (today aside!), but I've given them a go anyway, and have been using the Deep Pore Wash for over a week, alternating with the Blackhead Scrub a couple of times.
I'm juts going to get the one negative thing about both of these products out of the way first: they smell a little bit like bathroom cleaner. Or they do to me, anyway. I wasn't a huge fan of the smell itself, but in a strange way, it does make you feel like your skin is getting REALLY clean when you use them! And… it does.
The Deep Pore Wash is the product I've used most, and it really leaves my face feeling clean. There's a slight tingling sensation afterwards, and my skin just feels really fresh. Despite the chemical smell, it's not at all harsh or drying, though: my skin can be prone to feeling "tight" if I wash it with anything too harsh, but that wasn't the case with this, or with the Blackhead Scrub, which has the same scent and fresh, tingly feeling, but with the addition of tint particles which help exfoliate the skin and leave it feeling well-scrubbed.
As for my skin itself, I can't say I've noticed a huge difference, although as I noted at the start of this review, my skin isn't particularly spot-prone anyway: I will continue to use them both, though, and see how I get on – and look out for a review of the Roll-On net week sometime.
For more information and stockists, visit the Garnier website.
Mascara Wars: Dollface Reviews Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash Mascara
This round of Mascara Wars is brought to you by Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash. It's also brought to you by The Migraine I Had Earlier This Week That Left Me Looking Pale, Strung-Out and Inexplicably Spotty. OK so I don't think the migraine is to blame for the spottiness. But lets just say that I'm not looking my best this week, which meant that Buxom Lash was always going to have a particularly difficult time convincing me I should give up Lancome L'Extreme for it.
Did it do the job? Well, I think from the photo above it's pretty clear that "not really" is the answer to that one.
In the photo, I'm wearing Buxom Lash on my right eye (left of the screen), while the left eyelash is bare, but has been curled. While this mascara did a slightly better job than some I've tried at holding in the curl, it didn't do a GREAT job, and unfortunately, it's a GREAT job I'm looking for.
In its favour, though, there are a lot of good things about this mascara. Here's what Bare Escentuals have to say about it:
"Blackest Black holds the style of your lashes for a continuous 12 hours with no flakiness. The silky, vitamin-rich formula darkens, lengthens, and thickens from root to tip without ever clumping. Its patented, hourglass-shaped brush is designed to lift and separate every lash while delivering the perfect amount of antioxidant-rich mascara needed for bigger, fuller lashes."
Save or Splurge: Mascara
My post earlier today about lip treatments got me thinking about my spending habits, and which kinds of products I like to save and splurge on..
As I said in that post, lip balms generally fall into the former category. While I swear by my Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream, I'm also happy to settle for something much cheaper, like a Chap Stick, or a tin of Vaseline, and would probably prefer to buy something cheaper so that I can save my money for my "splurge" items.
One of those "Splurge" items, it will come as no surprise AT ALL to you to learn, is mascara. I'm not saying I'd never buy a drugstore mascara, of course: I have, and I will continue to buy them, and if I found one I loved, a very happy Dollface I'd be. It just so happens, though, that I've yet to find a cheap mascara I've really liked, and the ones I really LOVE are all higher end brands. I don't grudge spending a little bit extra on them, because I find a huge difference in the quality, but I got to wondering what everyone else does. Do you splurge on mascara, or is it one of the items you prefer to save on? You'll find a poll under the jump, but feel free to leave a comment too!
DuWop Icedteas Translucent Lip Treatment
Like the rest of my skin, my lips are super-pale, which mans that if I'm not wearing lipstick, people will assume I'm at death's door.
I also drink a lot of coffee, though, which means my lips get dry, and I need to use some kind of balm on them, so lip balms and other treatments that have even a hint of colour in them go a long way towards both protecting my lips and stopping people asking me if I'm ill.
This treatment by DuWop is translucent, but with "the slightest hint of tint". It also contains jojoba oil, aloe, green tea extract and sunscreen, and has an exotic fruit flavour, which always helps. There are four different colours/flavours to choose from, but on the minus side, I think it's rather pricey at $19, so I'm not sure I'd splash out on it.
If you would, you can buy it at www.sephora.com.
Smashbox High Definition Dual Finish Micro Powder SPF 15
This is going straight onto my Beauty Wish List.
Now, on the face of it (Hee! Do you see what I did there? Because its a product for your face. No? Oh, never mind..) it's a translucent powder. That's good: everyone can be doing with a spot of translucent powder from time to time, especially those of us with reflective foreheads, and I'm not looking at anyone in particular here. *Whistle*
It's not JUST a translucent powder, though. No, this has a dual chamber: in one side, a matt powder, to be used for shine-control purposes. In the other, a "luminous" powder to make you glow. Or, if you want, you can combine the two for a, er, matt finish with glow.
I like the handy little container this comes in, and I love Smashbox in general, so as I said, this is one I'd definitely like to get my hands on. If you would too, it's $38 at Sephora.
Bobbi Brown Brush Cleaning Spray for clean cosmetic brushes
How often do you clean your makeup brushes?
Let me be the first to answer that with "Not nearly as often as I should." Ahem.
When I do clean them, though, I generally just use good ol' soap and water, which gets the brushes clean, but does mean that they end up lying around the bathroom for hours drying off.
This Brush Cleaning Spray from Bobbi Brown is quick drying and easy to use, and while it's not supposed to be a substitute for a proper "shampoo", it should keep things looking and feeling fresh. Or so they say, anyway. What do people think about things like this? Do you think a special cleaner for your makeup brushes is necessary, or do soap and water do the job?
BUY: Bobbi Brown brush cleaning spray, $22
Malibu SPF 15 Clear Scalp Protector
As I may have mentioned once or twice or a million times, I'm paranoid about sunburn, which is why you'll always find me lathered up in the highest SPF I can find in the summer, plus a hat.
Despite this, at some point I almost always burn my scalp a little. I'll get careless with the hat, or I'll go swimming and not want to worry about trying to keep it on in the water, and while I've never burnt myself badly, I have cooked my scalp enough on occasion to make this product of interest to me.
It's a clear scalp protector with SPF 15, and although I have tried similar things before, they've always been so very greasy that they take days to wash out properly. This one claims to be non-greasy, and only costs £2.49, so it may be worth investing in for my next trip.
Anyone tried it?
Pure Kajal Eyeliner- intense eyeliner with UV filters
I'd like to say my interest in this product revolves around the fact that it contains UV filters and vitamin E, which should help make it kind to the skin around your eyes.
Or because it's supposedly smooth and blendable, with a long-lasting finish.
Or even because it comes in three different colours.
But no, I'm mostly interested in it because it looks like a giant crayon. And who doesn't love giant crayons?
BUY: Pure Kajal Eyeliner, £12
Chapstick True Shimmer – a classic with a twist
Everyone loves Chapstick, don't they?
Remember when you were in school? And you weren't allowed to wear REAL makeup, so you'd carry your chapstick with you everywhere and feel, like, really grown up every time you applied, which was a lot more often than was strictly necessary?
Was that just me?
Well, I for one have fond memories of my Chapstick, but the fact is that time, plus a million different new lip balms, some of which taste like FOOD, have seduced me away from it, so it's good to see that Chapstick have decided to try to win me back with their True Shimmer Chapstick.
(Because, yes, it is ALL ABOUT ME.)
This is, as you have surely guessed by now, a Chapstick with – yes! – a bit of a shimmer to it, so as well as making your lips soft, it'll also make them shiny. It comes in 'Botanical Berry' and 'Tropical' flavours (I wonder why no one has ever made a beauty product in "Roasted Cheese on Toast" flavour? Because I would totally buy that.) and it'll only set you back about $2.50. Look out for them at chemists/supermarkets and anywhere else you'd expect to find regular Chapstick: this doesn't seem to have made it to the UK yet, but I'm sure our time will come…
