Friday, April 24, 2009

Product Chatter: 4/24/09

Karen: Omg dude, this Jez thread on favorite discontinued brands/stuff is a-ma-zing.
Jeanne: I KNOW I AM READING IT RIGHT NOW
Karen: I AM LOVING IT
I also want to take a little trip down to the beauty supply and see if I can't find the Touche Eclat equivalent product someone was singing the praises of the other day
Jeanne: It was Sally Hansen, no?
Yay, I have a Sephora box to pick up today!
That has my Dior SkinFlash and the Philosophy shower gel in it.
And my Happy Birthday present.
Karen: Yes.
Jeanne: Hell yeah Sephora Beauty Insider.
Karen: Courtney recommends Laura Mercier tinted foundation, btw.
She was like, "CHECK IT OUT I TRIED HARD AND PUT MAKEUP ON TODAY--TINTED MOISTURIZER AND BLUSH, WHATUUUP BISHES"
Jeanne: Yeah, I like the Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer.
The Estee Lauder stuff is pretty good too.
I think I'm going to try out the Shiseido tinted moisturizer with SPF next, though, once I run out of what I have.
http://sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P204004&categoryId=B70
SPF 20 and non-comedogenic, hollah
And their primer has SPF 15, too.
Karen: Nice!
Jeanne: http://sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P173687&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=5337
Karen: I think you know, I've been blending my Neutrogena SPF30 tinted moisurizer with about a tsp of regular ol' lotion, it works SO WELL.
Because the Neutrogena stuff doesn't blend/absorb/cover very well. My complexion looks awesome today, I switched lotions from a little sample-size bottle of Neutrogena sesame lotion to a thing of Bath & Body Works lotus petal/whatever lotion I found.
Jeanne: Just straight up body lotion, or a face lotion?
Karen: And I think I'll continue to do the lotion-blend once I'm all out of the Neutrogena, since the Estee Lauder sample you gave me is just a smidge too dark/yellow, but gives good coverage when blended.
Just straight up lotion.
Jeanne: So stuff you would put on your legs?
Karen: With the same amount of tinted moisturizer as you would normally try to slather on le face.
I think it's more like hand lotion, it's just something I found around the house.
Obviously I tested it on my face first to make sure it wouldn't be like AUGH STINGING BURNING IN THE EYES HORRORRRRR
Jeanne: Yeah, for sure.
I would probably still use a face-y lotion, but that's me.
Karen: I am always skeptical about face VS body lotions, I think it's just a marketing difference.
Jeanne: If just because some body lotions could be like "pores? pores! let's get in 'em."
Karen: Yeah.
True, I think that's what the problem with the Neutrogena sesame stuff was.
Jeanne: Or fragrance-y body lotions, I would not want on my face.
Karen: It just felt...oily.
That rose cold cream from Bigelow Chemists is okay.
Jeanne: I swear to god the NARS/Origins combo has saved my face.
Karen: I think I just don't really know how to use it properly? I put it on before washing my face and let it sit like a mask, then wash per usual. That combination alone DRIES MY FACE OUT LIKE HELL.
Jeanne: I don't know which of the two is doing it, but yeah.
Don't you usually use cold cream as a night cream?
So after you wash?
Karen: It's so OILY, though.
I'm an idiot though, I've only ever seen cold cream used in movies, so I imagine that I am sitting in my dressing room with a mirror surrounded in lightbulbs, putting cold cream on my face.
Jeanne: OH
Did you see the BeautyHacks post on Marilyn Monroe's beauty products?
And the specific routine you have to do?
http://www.blogher.com/we-try-out-marilyn-monroes-favorite-beauty-products-do-they-still-work?wrap=beautyhacks/beautyhacks/skin
Karen: whoooaaa
http://www.ernolaszlo.com/i57/information.html
Jeanne: I know, it looks amazing, right?
Karen: The prices are OUTRAGEOUS, but I want to try it~
Jeannee: <-- going to fill out the survey!
Karen: !
<-- signing up for the newsletter in case there's a fire sale
Jeanne: Is my skin concern acne and breakouts, or dullness and discoloration?
Karen: Acne and breakouts, or so it seems to me.
Jeanne: because really, it's clogged pores, which is different than acne.
Yeah.
http://www.ernolaszlo.com/shop-by-skin-type-slightly-oily/c1_9/index.html
Karen: I am Slightly Dry!
Jeanne: TRAVEL SIZES
http://www.ernolaszlo.com/more-ways-to-shop-travel-sizes/c4_60/index.html
Karen: STILL SO EXPENSIVE
$39 FOR A TRAVEL-SIZE FACEWASH
Jeanne: I don't want to fill my sink with hot water.
It's a slow drain.
So unless I wash my face in the bathtub, yeah.
Karen: Yeah.
If it's as amazing and life-changing as it sounds, I would only use it in the morning--regular ol' face wash and toner at night is good enough for me.
Jeanne: Well, nighttime is really when you need to be good to your face because you're getting all of the crud of the day off.
Morning, you don't really need to wash it as heavily.
Karen: But I want it to look Marilyn-good for work.
If I'm going to go through all those steps with special, expensive products, I want somebody to SEE IT
and APPRECIATE IT
Jeanne: True.
Basically, I think I'm going to get the Origins night cream eventually/soon, as soon as I use up my sample, which should last me another couple of weeks.
Karen: Man, if it's worth the investment, go for it.
Jeanne: http://www.origins.com/templates/products/sp_nonshaded.tmpl?ngextredir=1&CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY21424&PRODUCT_ID=PROD14506
Karen: ooo.
Jeanne: It's amazing.
Although like I said, I honestly don't know if it's the NARS or the Origins, but whatever it is, the combo's working.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

My 25 Beauty Confessions!

Jeanne has pressed upon me that I should fill out this Sephora top-25 list, as anti-beauty as I am...being a young, working woman, I really can't avoid the beauty industry! The other day, my boss took a long look at me and said, "You look different today. Are you okay?" It took me a moment, but I realized that due to a rushed morning I hadn't had time to put on mascara. Voila, a noticeable difference!

1. What is the 1 product you'd grab if your house was on fire?
Facial wash! (I'm using Boots' Botanicals moisturizing face wash and I like it. Did you know actress Keeley Hawes is the face of Boots No. 7 in the UK? LOVE HER.)

2. Which friend would you let make you over?
Jeanne! Homegirl knows my likes and dislikes, and she is always super-stylish. Or, fictional friend, Joan Holloway of Mad Men--she would probably tell me to hike up my ta-tas and wear tighter sweaters.

3. What celeb do people think you look like?
I want to say Winona Ryder, but really? I would absolutely DIE OF SUPERFICIAL JOY if I grew my hair long to look like Anna Friel.

4. What beauty product do you save for date night?
Benefit BadGal lash mascara. It's a bit va-va-voom for the everyday work face, particularly because I tend to smear mascara on my glasses lenses and BadGal is close to impossible to get off.

5. Which of your guy friends takes longer than you, to get ready?
Like Jeanne, anyone who takes more than 20-30 minutes. I take ten minutes to shower, towel-dry my hair, style it, throw on some clothes, and bing bang boom! We have our routines down pat.

6. If you could create your own miracle beauty product, what would it be?
A fine, non-flyaway powder that provides SPF and good, even coverage to smooth out my red areas and make my face look less freckly. A friend once told me there is laser surgery to remove freckles in South Korea, in order to achieve "porcelain face." Just give me a powder and a big ol' brush, please!

7. How many different Sephora stores have you been to (and in which cities)?
Stanford Shopping Center, San Francisco (Powell)--with Jeanne, San Francisco International Airport departures terminal, and probably New York City...somewhere? Yikes.

8. What's your best beauty tip?
Definitely sunscreen, and don't skimp on the SPF number--stick to 30 or more, most formulations I've used around 30 still protect your skin and don't feel like zinc oxide library paste.

9. What beauty products do you love to splurge on?
Hair conditioners and/or deep conditioning hair masks, because I have a misguided notion that conditioning my hair will make it straighter and less frizzy. I bought a tub of amazing honey deep conditioning goop in Japan that lasted me a good year and a half, so it's pretty much always a good investment.

10. Which of your girlfriends would you bring on a Sephora shopping spree?
Kati, Jeanne, Miss C., and probably my mom. She buys crazy, impulse things at Sephora that I then get to use because they don't work on her. Win!

11. What is your signature scent?
A mixture of my Chai-scented deodorant and Satu Vanille from Anthropologie, which I picked up on sale and on a whim. I think the scents blend well with one another. Otherwise, I am still looking for the perfect citrus perfume for summer, but I don't want it to clash with my deodorant--very important.

12. I am on an endless quest for the perfect _________.
Oops! See #11. Citrus/lemon/orange-scents. And tinted moisturizer that doesn't feel like I'm smearing dried-up paint on my face.

13. How old were you when you were allowed to wear makeup AND how old were you when you actually started wearing makeup?
Oh boy, was I a late bloomer. I made a brief foray into trying to buy makeup at the local CVS in my college town, but never made much an effort beyond face wash and lotion until senior year of college. I had a NARS makeover at our local Sephora while home on break and the makeup artist was so refreshingly frank and really listened to my needs, it turned me right around. I started experimenting and finding what worked well on my when I lived on my own two years ago. Living in Japan for a while was a makeup disaster, I was sweaty and oily all day long, although makeup shopping in Tokyo is endlessly entertaining. Whitening lotion!! Ladies, really.

14. How many beauty products does it take to get you ready?
Let's see. 1: Face wash, 2: lotion, 3: Neutrogena tinted moisturizer blended with previously mentioned lotion, 4: eyeliner in bronze, brown, or black, 5: mascara, 6: pressed powder. Occasionally, I'll use blush. In the car, I put on lipgloss and/or lipstick and that's it. I sure don't look camera-ready by any means!!

15. What lipstick/lip gloss is in your purse right now?
Blistex Deep Renewal with SPF15 and CoQ10 formula (it smells like marshmallows!), Maybelline shiny-licious gloss 87 in pink sorbet, Kiss My Face lip balm in vanilla honey, and Sonia Kashuk lipstick in sheer calypso, from Target.

16. Who is your celebrity beauty icon?
Obviously, love Keeley Hawes and Anna Friel, they are badass ladies. I love Thora Birch's look as Enid in Ghost World, that movie is basically my life, after all.

17. Where is the craziest place you've ever applied your makeup?
The bathroom on the 30th floor of the United Nations Headquarters? It didn't seem particularly momentous or crazy at the time, mostly just lazy and sloppy.

18. Who of your tagged friends is ALWAYS camera ready?
Does my mother count? The lady certainly didn't pass on the photogeneity genes to me!

19. Name the beauty brand you'd most love to be a spokesperson for?
Anna Sui, that packaging is so elegant and Gothic I want to EAT IT.

20. If you could name your signature nail polish, what would you call it?
Purple Primal Scream.

21. Out of your tagged friends, who's the most Sephora-obsessed?
Uh doyyy, as Liz Lemon would say, Jeanne.

22. Fave mascara right now?
I wear Maybelline Colossal Volume Express every day for work, it's...fine. Neither colossal nor really volume-adding, but as long as it makes me look more awake than I actually am, I'm not complaining!

23. The last thing you bought at Sephora?
I probably got a bunch of sample-size things. This reminds me, I need to go pick up an eyeliner pencil sharpener and a new brush...and maybe add to my not-quite-right pressed powder collection.

24. I try never to be seen without wearing _______.
Sunglasses. And lip balm.

25. One beauty product you recommend to ALL of your girlfriends?
DHC foaming cream facial cleanser! So, so great.


Copy and paste this to pass it on with your own answers, we love seeing everyone's personal takes on beauty and makeup!

Sephora's 25 Beauty Confessions!

If you didn't get caught up in the "25 Things You Might Not Know" thing that went around Facebook, then you... probably don't spend a lot of time on Facebook.

Anyway, Sephora posted up a list of 25 beauty questions/confessions, and so I'm answering them here...

1. What is the 1 product you'd grab if your house was on fire?
Sunscreen!

2. Which friend would you let make you over?
I would have to say J, the younger sister of my good friend, S.

3. What celeb do people think you look like?
I've been told Leelee Sobieski, Helena Bonham Carter, and Ingrid Bergman.

4. What beauty product do you save for date night?
I don't think I have any special products just for date night -- I definitely put in more effort when I go out for any reason, not just dates. But I would say foundation/tinted moisturizer, since I don't wear it to work unless I'm planning on going out (or getting my picture taken).

5. Which of your guy friends takes longer than you, to get ready?
Anyone who takes longer than half an hour -- and that includes shower time.

6. If you could create your own miracle beauty product, what would it be?
A tinted moisturizer with good but not too heavy coverage that heals zits as it covers them, doesn't clog pores (in fact, it would be awesome if it could unclog pores, since it's a miracle product) or get oily, and has SPF but doesn't smell like sunscreen.

7. How many different Sephora stores have you been to (and in which cities)?
Stanford, San Francisco (Powell), Seattle, Times Square, Champs Elysees, and Rue de Rivoli (I think -- I went to another, non-Champs Elysees, Sephora in Paris as well). I'm sure I've been to others, but those are the ones I can think of off of the top of my head.

8. What's your best beauty tip?
SUNSCREEN.

9. What beauty products do you love to splurge on?
I would say skincare masks and treatments. (Although I don't really *love* to splurge on them.)

10. Which of your girlfriends would you bring on a Sephora shopping spree?
Kati and Karen, naturally.

11. What is your signature scent?
I don't have one! I wrote about this for BeautyHacks back in October and I still don't have one. I would say the closest I have is L'Artisan Parfumeur's Mure et Musc Extreme, but even then I want something else for spring. I'm thinking Yuzu Rouge...? Or I could go back to Fresh Sugar, maybe.

12. I am on an endless quest for the perfect _________.
Tinted moisturizer with SPF -- see #6.

13. How old were you when you were allowed to wear makeup AND how old were you when you actually started wearing makeup?
I never really wore make-up to school or class (and I still don't wear much to work); my mom brought me in to the Dior counter when I was maybe fifteen or sixteen, then MAC when I was seventeen or eighteen (before I went off to college).

14. How many beauty products does it take to get you ready?
Ready for work or ready for a night out? For work, it now takes six (sometimes seven or eight), not including toothpaste. (That's face wash, moisturizing lotion, eye cream, sunscreen, Dior SkinFlash concealer/brightener, Benetint, sometimes powder, sometimes bronzer).

15. What lipstick/lip gloss is in your purse right now?
I have three lip balms (Dr. Pepper LipSmackers, Yes to Carrots balm in Carrot, Chocolate Mint Ganache) and Lipstick Queen lipstick in Saint Natural.

16. Who is your celebrity beauty icon?
Jean Seberg and Blair Waldorf.

17. Where is the craziest place you've ever applied your makeup?
I tend to apply it on the commuter train a lot, which is fun when you're doing mascara or eyeliner.

18. Who of your tagged friends is ALWAYS camera ready?
I'm not tagging anyone, and I almost never have my camera with me, so I'm not really sure! But my ladies always look great.

19. Name the beauty brand you'd most love to be a spokesperson for?
Fresh, since Alina Roytberg is awesome.

20. If you could name your signature nail polish, what would you call it?
It wouldn't be "Jeanne in a Bottle", that's for dang sure. Maybe "Jeanne Bikini".

21. Out of your tagged friends, who's the most Sephora-obsessed?
Again, not tagging anyone, but it would probably be me.

22. Fave mascara right now?
Blinc Kiss Me, since it makes my lashes SO LONG and doesn't smear at all.

23. The last thing you bought at Sephora?
Erm, officially I bought something online today... and that's the new Philosophy Unconditional Love 3-in-1 (I knoooow) and a replacement Dior SkinFlash concealer/highlighter pen, because I'm paranoid about my current one running out and I NEED IT.

24. I try never to be seen without wearing _______.
Clothes. Oh, wait. Cheek stain.

25. One beauty product you recommend to ALL of your girlfriends?
Urban Decay Primer Potion, hands down.

Go ahead and grab this and post it yourself in your own blog or in the comments -- I'd love to see everyone else's answers!