Saturday, March 29, 2008

April 2008 Lucky

I eagerly await the arrival of my Lucky in the beginning of every single month. I know that it will make me want a million next beauty products every single time.

My thoughts on the hits of this month's Lucky...

The new Korres makeup line - I love the original Korres line of facial, body and haircare products. The line is homeopathic and origined in Greece. I own tons of products from the line and am so exicted for makeup to match.

Here's what I want on first glance...

Pomegranate Lip Butter - "A shea-butter tint that smells and tastes like the real fruit"
Compact Powder for Normal/Dry Skin - "This is made with Vitamins C and E to brighten skin"
Ginger and Vitamins foundation SPF10 - "A water-based formula with moisturizering ginger extract" (I would still use a separate spf with this product)

After the thrill of Korres, I turn the page and lo and behold - a beautiful new Chanel palette! The colors are the most wearable sheer neutrals.

My thrill quickly ended when I saw Jean Godfrey June's column. Home hair dye and champagne?! This is just so wrong - dying hair and drinking at the same time. I don't dye my own hair...its impossible to get the same results as you would with a stylist. Also, I'm not a fan of dark green nail polish; blue is one thing, green is a whole other.

I'm also very interested in the "Secret Ingredient - Acai". I love antioxidants and prefer to have as many as possible of them in my skincare (hence my love of Caudalie!). So when I find a new antioxidant and new ways to wear it, I get very excited. I want the Tarte Natural Cheek Stain like you wouldn't believe.

My last love is the Laura Mercier Creme Eye Color Compact pictured. The description reads "Two dewy, coppery translucent balms - so pretty". The duo is called "Daydream" and will be coming home with me the next time I hit up Sephora.

Oh new loves...

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Colds and Caudalie Grape Water

I went the whole winter without getting sick once and by the end of March, I really thought that cold season was over. Well not for me...

Sure enough, on Easter, I woke up with a case of the sniffles and sore throat and only got sicker and the day progressed. by the next day, I was regulated to nyquil and my bed.

My least favorite thing about getting sick is not the sneezing, coughing, or any of the ususal symptoms. Its the dry, bright red patch that I always get underneath my nose as a result of nose blowing and tissues. I have tried every single kind of tissue that is available and I still always get it. The redness and stinging usually last an extra week after my cold is gone and makeup is little help to cover it up.

I have been interested in the Caudalie skin care for a quite awhile now. There will be many posts on that line because I own a large amount of it and all the products are amazing.

The product that helps my redness problem is the Caudalie Grape water. It is 100% botanical grape water that is said to soothe irritated skin and to refresh and condition the skin anytime of the day. Spray it on and let it dry...almost sounds too easy!

However, maybe simpler is better sometimes. This is very simple idea and product that actually does what it claims to do and doesn't have a large amount of added ingredients with little to no value. It soothes the stinging and the redness and after it dries, put moisturizer over it and it locks extra moisture into your skin which reenforces skin's natural defenses.

This may be may for redness but anyone with normal to dry skin can benefit from the hydration.

Only drawback - its natural grape water - you will smell like a raisin while it is drying.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Chanel's Blue Satin

Chanel's Blue Satin nail polish is considered to be the color for the spring. Allure had stated that several issues ago and once its stated in Allure...well there go the chances of getting any without a waiting list.

I first noticed this color back in January. The model in the ad for the new Spring 2008 makeup colors is wearing this polish. It appears in the picture as a dark shimmery blue. I was instantly in love.

This color reminded me of the limited edition color that they brought out in 1997, Ciel de Nuit (the winner of the first Seventeen magazine contest). This was my first lemming and my first piece of expensive makeup (I was in the seventh grade!). I feel like I had been looking for a color like this ever since I finished that bottle up.

A week or two later, I ended up at the Chanel counter at my local Macy's. I asked for the color and the very unhelpful sales associate rather snottily pointed out that the model is wearing Blue Satin with Azur over it. So I looked at her and I said that I would take that color too. After she realized that I actually wanted to purchase both she suddenly became much more helpful!

I got the last bottle of Blue Satin and the second last bottle of Azur.

Fast forward to the present...I just used Blue satin for the first time the other week on my toes. I love it alone...creamy and very shiney. Soon I will paint the topcoat of Azur over it and see how this looks.

I still haven't used it on my hands yet...I only use pale colors in my manicures so this is something that i need to get up the nerve for.

Overall - one amazing polish!

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Benefit's Thrrrob

Benefit has come out with a new blush/powder shade for Spring 2008. Thrrrob is pinky color that is meant to resemble a "turned on" facial flush. It's a really beautiful pinky shade in an adorable box.

I bought it the other week at Sephora. the directions for use state that it can be used all over the face for an entire flush. I have only used it on the apples of my cheeks so far because I really don't feel that I could pull it off all over my face. So far, I love it.

The major drawback is the box that it comes in. As I stated earlier, the box is really cute with the red laces of a corset drawn on it. However, the box is bulky and cardboard so it really doesn't fit well in my traincase and it seems like the box could get damaged very easily.

My overall rating - love the color but am not a fan of the package.