Godefroy Mascara Warmer found through the Time for Me catalog.
Tag: Beauty
An incredible season for makeup launches
This has been an incredible season for makeup launches:
- Pati Dubroff for Costco (debuted in June)
- Marc Jacobs Beauty for Sephora (featured in the August issue of Allure). See NYLON’s feature beauty marc on 5 items worth splurging on
- Michael Kors Makeup (also featured in the August issue of Allure)
- butter LONDON for Ulta
But wait, there’s more! 🙂 In the near future, we can expect new makeup lines from:
- British MUA Charlotte Tilbury (debuts September 2; don’t know if she’ll launch in the U.S.). British Beauty Blogger (see 6 #beauty sites to follow) wrote, “.. they’re being very secretive.. I was invited to see it but it’s under an embargo so didn’t quite see the point in going. It better be good is all I can say after all this fuss!”
- em by YouTube phenomenon Michelle Phan. Read an exclusive interview with Michelle Phan at makeup.com.
- Jane Cosmetics (a relaunch of the popular 90s brand). Check out this article about Lynn Tilton, “The Wild Woman of Wall Street,” who’s reviving Jane (she’s also behind Stila)
- Tory Burch Beauty. The Glossy Pages by gloss48 (via WWD) reports that Tory Burch Beauty will launch September 26.
Also expect new collaborations from Jason Wu for Lancôme and Bobbi Brown and Katie Holmes (the Bobbi & Katie collection).
Whew! So many launches, so little time! 🙂
Share this:
SpaceNK Ndulge rewards program
I’ve already discussed my disenchantment with Sephora’s reward program. I like accumulating points that I can redeem for future purchases. I recently signed up for the SpaceNK Ndulge rewards program, in which you receive 1 point for every dollar spent. If you accumulate 100 points ($100), you receive a $5 Ncentive (reward), which you must use in 3 months.
SpaceNK offers a number of premium beauty brands. You may earn points by shopping at SpaceNK stores. SpaceNK has a number of boutiques within Bloomingdale’s stores. For those of you who live in the DC metro area, there is a SpaceNK boutique within the Tysons Corner Bloomie’s.
Share this:
Review of THERA°PEARL® Eye-ssential Eye Mask
THERA°PEARL® Eye-ssential Eye Mask is an eye mask comparable to other gel eye masks, except that it contains “pearls.” THERA°PEARL® can be used hot (don’t nuke it over 15 seconds) or cold.
I like to use it cold in the summer. While THERA°PEARL® Eye-ssential Eye Mask can be put in the freezer, I just put it in the refrigerator. I put the mask over my eyes to soothe burning cheeks after sun exposure. If the elastic band is not too constricting, you can wrap it around your neck: Allure said that cooling your neck was best to cool down.
A mindless, but potentially calming, activity (like watching fish in an aquarium) is gently pressing the mask to shift the pearls from side to side.
The THERA°PEARL® Eye-ssential Eye Mask costs $13 through THERA°PEARL®’s web site. It is widely available at drugstores and supermarkets, where you might find it for less.
NOTE: The THERA°PEARL® Eye-ssential Eye Mask reviewed for this blog was supplied as a PR sample.
Share this:
Review of LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter
While I’m fickle about skin care and makeup, I’m devoted to the LUSH Floating Island bath melt. When I last went to LUSH, I purchased several Floating Islands. I also picked up LUSH’s Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter, a first for me.
I love LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter! It’s a thick,thick cream for your cuticles. Lemon extract is first on the ingredient list, followed by emollient natural butters and oils. Lemon brightens the nails.
Ingredients:
Fresh Organic Lemon Infusion (Citrus limonum) , Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii) , Beeswax (Cera alba) , Lanolin , Soya Oil (Glycine Soja) , Cold Pressed Organic Avocado Oil (Persea gratissima) , Cold Pressed Organic Flaxseed Oil (Linum usitatissimum) , Mango Butter (Mangifera indica) , Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera) , Castor Oil (Ricinus communis) ,Fragrance , Cold Pressed Organic Wheatgerm Oil (Triticum vulgare) , Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum) , Lavender Oil (Lavandula hybrida) , Tagetes Oil (Tagetes minuta) , Chamomile Blue Oil (Matricaria Chamomilla) , Stearic Acid , Triethanolamine , Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides) , Cetearyl Alcohol , Citral ,Geraniol , Citronellol , Limonene , Linalool , Methylparaben ,Propylparaben
LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter is the best thing that I’ve found to treat my dry, ratty cuticles. It’s fun to use, because it smells so good. When you compare this with Sally Hanson cuticle creams, for example, LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter, at $17 for a 1.5-oz tub is a good value.
I like LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter so much that I’ve added it to my favorite hand, foot, and nail products:
Reference: SkinnyScoop list or my post on Blogger (which does allow for scripts)
Share this:
What’s “natural”?
The titling of products as “natural” (see my comments on Natural Essentials Healing Dry Oil) is a pet peeve of mine. I’m not a purist, but I think that many (including me) would not think that compounds made in the laboratory are “natural.”
The problem is that there’s no agreed-upon definition of “natural.” There are definitions of what qualifies as “organic,” for example, through the USDA’s National Organic Program. Here is a USDA fact sheet on labeling Cosmetics, Body Care Products, and Personal Care Products as organic.
The FDA does not have a definition for the term “organic.”
Bottom line: read the labels, including the ingredient list, and determine for yourself if the product meets your definition of “natural.”
Share this:
Review of Natural Essentials Healing Dry Oil
I was pleased to receive a sample of Natural Essentials Healing Dry Oil for dry or damaged hair. It includes exotic oils from all around the world, including coconut oil, which is widely used as a hair treatment in tropical climates, and camellia oil, which is part of traditional hair care in Japan. Its fragrance transports you to a tropical paradise, with piña colada in hand.
One word about the brand’s name: “Natural” refers to the oils themselves, not to the formulation. Like Moroccanoil, Natural Essentials Healing Dry Oil contains silicones and other ingredients that you wouldn’t consider “natural.” Natural Essentials hair care products do not contain sulfates, parabens, drying alcohol, phthalates, gluten, or artificial colors.
As can be expected, Natural Essentials Healing Dry Oil delivers a silky smooth finish.
I also received:
- Natural Essentials Strengthening Dry Oil for normal to dry hair ($10/1.5 fl. oz.)
- Natural Essentials Nourishing Shampoo ($6.00/10.5 fl. oz.) – sulfate-free
- Natural Essentials Nourishing Conditioner ($6.00/10.5 fl. oz.) – sulfate-free
I’ve been disappointed with the performance of sulfate-free shampoos. They don’t do a good job of cleaning the scalp, but Natural Essentials Nourishing Shampoo does a better job than a couple of other sulfate-free shampoos that I’ve received.
Natural Essentials Healing Dry Oil ($10/1.5 fl. oz.) and other hair care products are available at select Walgreens, Harmon Discount and Bed Bath & Beyond stores. For more information, check out the Natural Essentials web site.
Share this:
Asian beauty stores in the DC Metro Area
The DC Metro Area hosts a large Asian community, and there are many stores that cater to this market. Today I’ll introduce you to some Asian beauty stores in the DC Metro Area.
More Shiseido in Fairfax Circle carries Shiseido, Clé de Peau Beauté, Enprani skin care and makeup, skin care sets, face mask sheets, Darkness beauty implements from Korea, and some unexpected items (underwear!).
Lotte Plaza in Chantilly features a comprehensive selection of international foods. Grocery shopping in its produce section is a contact sport. There are so many shoppers there that you can’t maneuver. Bunny LaRue wrote:
Lotte Plaza is great. I have seen no less than two fist fights there. When they first opened I made the mistake of trying to get some shrimp, I nearly lost my arm. The lady that runs Cinderella is really nice.
Which brings us to the next shop off the beaten beauty path: Cinderella, which is located in the courtyard of Lotte Plaza. Cinderella carries a wide variety of face mask sheets (which I predict will be the next big thing to come out of Asia after BB cream), Korean skin care, Darkness beauty implements, and cheap costume jewelry. Don’t let the crowds and craziness dissuade you from going!
While I love shopping at Lotte Plaza for the all the fun things that I can find, Super H Mart in Fairfax is brighter, lighter, and, dare I say, cleaner than Lotte Plaza. Never mind that when I entered the store, Gangnam Style was blasting through the speakers!
Within Super H Mart is the Amore store, which carries high-end cosmetics and skin care brands from Korea’s Amorepacific Corporation. The displays are as elegant as anything you’d might find in an upscale department store: skin care sets from Sulwhasoo, Laneige, and IOPE are presented on back-lit display shelves. I was surprised to find the Sulwhasoo face powder compacts that I wrote about at the Amore Store. IOPE color cosmetics are also found there. As can be expected from a Korean beauty emporium, Amore carries Darkness beauty implements and face mask sheets.
Across from Amore is the Shiseido store, which carries Shiseido and Clé de Peau Beauté color cosmetics and skin care from Shiseido, Benefique, Qiora, and SK-II.
BTW SK-II is actually a P&G brand, which is why Allure mentions SK-II’s pricey face mask sheets with MUA Pat McGrath, who’s P&G’s global creative director for its beauty brands (Cover Girl, Max Factor, Dolce & Gabbana, and SK-II).
Make Up Plus within Lotte Plaza in Silver Spring carries Clio makeup from Korea and, of course, skin care, face mask sheets, and Darkness beauty implements.
eCosway is a shoppers’ club in which you pay a $20 VIP membership to get discounts. For $60, members can recruit other members, who can recruit other members … in other words, a MTM or MLM scheme. Cosmetics and skin product lines include Beauty Code, Bioglo, L’élan Vital, and Colour Sense. I suspect that these are all eCosway brands. eCosway also sells cleaning supplies, nutritional supplements, and more. Does it sound like Amway, but with a brick-and-mortar store?
Share this:
Tangee Natural lipstick
Tangee Natural lipstick is an iconic lipstick: just read the testimonials from women even older than The Style Page (!) They fondly remember Tangee Natural as their first lipstick.
First of all, let’s get one thing out of the way: “Natural” refers to the lip color, not the ingredients. While Tangee Natural is bright orange in the tube, it turns to a soft blush rose on the lips.
The soft blush rose color stays on, and Tangee Natural feels comfortable on the lips. This lipstick would suit women with fair to light skin tones with blonde to light brown hair. As I have dark brown hair (from the bottle!) and a light complexion, I need a deeper shade of lipstick.
Tangee Natural’s appeal is that it’s an iconic lipstick. This is one lipstick that cries out for retro-packaging: Gabriela Hernandez, are you listening?
Tangee Natural lipstick sells for $15.00 a tube, exclusively through the Vermont Country Store.
Share this:
Enter for a chance to win a TILTH Beauty skin care collection!
TILTH Beauty is a skin care collection from Anthony Vargas, formerly VP for R&D for Elizabeth Arden, where he was instrumental in developing the Prevage™ and Ceramide™ skin care lines, so you know that he has serious cred 🙂
TILTH Beauty has opened an online store on OpenSky. It is seeking 500 followers on OpenSky, and to give you incentive to follow TILTH Beauty, it is hosting a giveaway for a TILTH Beauty skin care collection!
To enter the giveaway:
- Click on https://www.opensky.com/tilth-beauty.
- Sign in with Facebook.
- Click “Follow” for your chance to win.
That’s it!
Which TILTH Beauty product interests you most? All of them appeal to me, but I’m particularly curious about the Refresh Peptide Mist.
Cold Cream 'n' Roses 
You must be logged in to post a comment.