ProductWhores

The Perfect Mood Lighting

I've never played around with Hourglass Cosmetics before so at the last Sephora VIB Rouge discount event I took full advantage of the money off and invested in the Ambient Lighting Powder by Hourglass.  It's crazy beautiful and worth every penny of the 45 bucks.  I have been wearing Mood Light which is a pinky-lavender shade perfect for brightening the complexion and I've gotten so many compliments I've actually lost count at this point.  It's kind of shocking how much better my skin looks since I started using it - so vibrant and healthy, not to mention - dare I say - a bit younger?!  Love, love, love this stuff and now I'm dying to get the three-shade palette at Sephora. 

Airbrush Yourself

I'm not normally a fan of powder foundations.  For some reason, I just default to using liquid foundations 90% of the time.  But recently Tarte sent me over their new Amazon Clay Airbrush Foundation and I am super loving it.  If you buy it, I recommend also picking up the Airbuki Bamboo Powder Foundation Brush with it because I've been using the two together and they work fabulously as a pair, so it's definitely worth grabbing.  Basically, all you do is fit the brush onto the mesh sifter and press down (I find that it helps if you shake the container a little) and the powder foundation will load itself onto the brush.  Then you buff the powder onto your face in a swirling motion.  It's super simple and quick and the nice thing about it is that you can choose your coverage depending on how much you use (from light to full).  What I like about it is that it looks totally natural on and doesn't give a masky powdery finish, but it's also not drying.  It just gives your skin a really flawless look, even more flawless than my usual liquid foundations, which surprised me.  Don't you love it when products rock your world and change the way you think?  It's what makes makeup so fun!  

Note:  A sample of this was sent to me by a PR representative working with Tarte

Powder Perfection

After I put on my foundation in the morning, I always like to finish it off with a dusting of powder because it just tops off the look and prevents my skin from getting shiny, at least for a little while (nothing was stopping it this past week with temperatures over one hundred!)  For a long time, I used bronzer to give my pasty white self some color, but about a month ago, I realized that it just wasn't looking as natural as I wanted (it was less "I just got back from a tropical vacation" and more... Snooki) so I basically just stopped cold turkey. Sorry, dozen bronzers just waiting to be used in my stash, I think you're gonna have to wait awhile before you step up to the plate.  So I was on the hunt for a new translucent powder that would control shine with a sheer color.  Enter CARGO's CARGO_HD Picture Perfect Translucent Powder.  The powder itself comes in a pot that you just sort of shake to get product out of.  It's only available in one shade that self-adjusts to every skin tone, so that makes shopping for it easy.  No more accidentally buying the wrong shade!  It contains a high-resolution technology that helps to diffuse lines, pores and any other imperfections that you want to conceal.  (Uh, all of them?)  I love it because it doesn't settle into skin and make it look dry, it just sort of weighlessly covers my skin and makes it look much more flawless than it really is.  CARGO calls it "a photo filter for the complexion" and I like that description - it's especially perfect for days when you know you'll be photographed a lot because it blends in seamlessly in pictures. You definitely won't have the dreaded makeup line along your jawline with this product!  I thought I'd miss my bronzer a little bit, but I really don't.  Translucent powder, for the win!       

Note:  A sample of this product was sent to me by a PR representative working with CARGO

Hello Flawless!

I think my favorite score for Christmas had to be the fantastic Sephora giftcard I received in my stocking (yep, I still get a stocking!)  I couldn't waste any time spending the card so I dashed off to Sephora the day after Christmas and was overwhelmed with all the goodness.  Like my fellow ProductWhore, I fell in love (almost lust) with Sephora's new Prisma Collection of shadows (and unlike my fellow Whore, I actually bought a few and can attest to their fabulosity).  In addition to the shadows, I also picked up the Hello Flawless compact by Benefit which, if you haven't checked out, you definitely need to.  This little guy is a powder foundation which acts as a concealer (use the included sponge for heavier coverage) and as a foundation (sheer coverage if you use the included brush).  I love the way it feels on my skin (so silky smooth), doesn't cake at all and contains SPF15.  Hello Flawless makes my skin look, well, flawless and it's the perfect size compact to carry in your purse.  Honestly, no reason to not own this.

Face Defender!

Evercolor Poreless Face Defender by Mally Beauty sounds like a crazy superhero.  In fact, every time I say it I feel the need to raise my fist in the air after I finish with 'defender.'  Honestly, this unique product is perfectly named because this badboy really is a superhero.  It's a colorless non-powder finisher which helps makeup to last all day long but without that powder-y finish.  I adore this stuff and have become a Mally Beauty convert after just one use.  I love how smooth it feels when I put it on my face and the compact will last a long time because you need to use only very little each time.  The first time I tried it, it was hard to tell if it was being applied correctly (what, with it being clear, and all!) but once you feel your skin you can definitely tell where it was applied.  Completely worth the $40.00 retail and Poreless Face Defender makes me crave more Mally products.  If the other stuff she offers is even half as good as this compact, I'm a fan for life!

Note:  A sample of this product was sent to me by a PR representative working with Mally Beauty.

Very Sexy and Glittery

Every Christmas Victoria's Secret surprises me with their holiday offerings (and I'm actually not even talking about their awesome flannel pjs which are a winter staple for me).  Their cosmetics line always kicks-butt and this year is no different.  Two stand-outs which I am obsessing over for stocking stuffers are Very Sexy Shimmer Lotion and Sexy Little Things Noir Tease Shimmer Powder.  Very Sexy is a sultry mix of vanilla orchid, clementine and blackberry.  The scent is intoxicating, but not overpowering, and the shimmer is delicate so you don't look like a human discoball.  I love that the lotion sinks right in, leaves skin feeling soft and the scent lingers the better part of the day (but not in an obnoxious way).  The Sexy Little Things Noir Tease Shimmer Powder is an awesome golden-glisten powder which looks fantastic on (again, not too overpowering with the glitter) but smells so ridiculously amazing that people have been stopping me to ask what scent I'm wearing.  The fragrance is black vanilla, frozen pear and gardenia but really it's most deep vanilla for me.  It reminds me of the Lavanila line - only sexier.  Love, love, love this product and at $25.00 it's a no-brainer for a gift.  I am especially loving using the powder as a perfume because it means way easier travel people (no spilling or measuring ounces).  

Note:  Samples of these items were sent to me by a PR representative working with Victoria's Secret.

Shimmering Grace

Philosophy's new The Color of Grace collection launched recently with a bunch of new products and I'm particularly in love with the Amazing Grace Shimmering Face Powder.  I mostly use bronzer as a finishing touch after I put on my foundation, but when I want a softer look, I'll definitely be turning to this now.  It doesn't add very much color, just sort of a hint of a pinkish tone, but it does give some warmth to my look that I really like.  It's not sparkly or even overtly shimmery really, just more sort of a highlighter.  (Which I like, because who wants big pieces of glitter shining on their face?  I can't image anyone who would look good with that).  It's the kind of powder that's perfect to wear if you're going out for a candlelit dinner or heading out for a special occasion.  Also, it smells like the Amazing Grace fragrance, which I love and already wear, so that's an added bonus.  Now I just need to finish trying all the rest of The Color Of Grace products to find my next favorite..

Note:  A sample of this product was sent to me by a PR representative working with Philosophy.       

Magic Powder

There are some products that you have to use for awhile before you appreciate their true genius and then there are some products that you use once and are instantly in love.  Prescriptives Magic Liquid Powder falls into the second category for me.  I'm normally not a huge powder user (I tend to finish off my look with bronzer instead) but ever since my friend raved about this to me, I'd been wanting to try it, so I finally did.  And now I must tell you all to go out and buy it immediately.  Its formula is made with 70% water and as the Prescriptives site says, "This ultra-lucent powder dusts on like a mist to set and enhance the effect of foundation."  Totally true, but the fun part is putting it on.  When I first swept it over my face, I thought that I'd put it on with a wet brush because that's what it felt like.  So I grabbed another brush and repeated the application, only to have the same thing happen.  So, uhm, I grabbed another brush and did it a third time.  And when I had the same thing happen again, I FINALLY realized that it wasn't the brushes, that's just how the powder goes on.  (I'm guessing from the 70% water).  I realize how stupid that makes me sound, but in my defense, no other powder I've ever tried goes on like that.  It's really cool - and it feels totally refreshing too, so it's the perfect powder to use in the summer time.  It also really works - it's supposed to minimize the appearance of lines, pores and wrinkles and it definitely does.  My skin looks flawless after I put it on, which my bronzer, beloved as it is, doesn't really accomplish.  Now the important question - can Prescriptives make a Magic Body Powder that you dust on to instantly look 15 pounds thinner?  Someone get on that!   

What I'm Loving Right Now

As usual, I'm testing a bunch of products all at once.  Some of them I love, some of them... not so much.  Here are the ones I've been telling my family and friends to go out and buy.  (Or at least listen to me talk about!)

Estee Lauder's new Nutritious Vita-Mineral Makeup is my foundation of the moment.  I really like using mineral makeup, but don't usually love powder foundations, so this if perfect for me.  It goes on smoothly and blends easily, and it comes with an SPF (although it is only an SPF 10 - I'd love it if they could make it a 15 or higher).  It's oil and fragrance-free (who wants fragrance in their foundation?), but it does have minerals, Vitamins C and E, and pomegranate-extract, which is a strong anti-oxidant.  It also helps erase signs of fatigue, which is perfect for me because lately, I look like I'm permanently in need of a nap.  (Getting older sucks!)

After I put in the Estee Lauder foundation, my powder is Clinique's Redness Solutions Instant Relief Mineral Powder.  (I'm all about the minerals lately!)  It's also oil-free and gives my skin more of a matte look, but what I really love is the way it takes the redness out of my face.  It makes it look more even and less blotchy whenever I need that to happen (like when I've been running around all day and then have to go back out without having time to shower.  This product is totally made for days like that).

Bare Escentuals Face Fashion is a great all in one makeup kit.  It contains two eyecolors, one liner shadow, one blush, and a Buxom lip polish.  The colors create a great dark smoky eye, and the lip color is a sheer nude to go along with them.  (Plus, you get that tingling sensation when you use it, which I love).  And the small sizes make it easily portable and perfect for a trip or a weekend away.  I love it when companies put shades together for me so I don't have to think about what matches.  The less thinking in the morning, the better!

Genuinely Pretty

The Genuine Jade Beauty Duo from Bare Escentuals is a great choice for those looking to add a little shimmer to their look.  Perfect for a night on the town, this 100% pure bareMinerals Face & Boy Color comes infused with real jade powder.  (Many people believe that fine yellow jade radiates a healing energy that brings balance, calm and luck to those who wear it.  Who couldn't use that in their makeup?)  It goes on smoothly and blends right in, leaving your skin with an almost silky texture.  The website says that it leaves a "sheer healthy finish of flaxen shimmer with delicate pink undertone," but on me, the powder went on with a golden finish that gave my skin a definite glow.  So pretty.  It's perfect for brushing on your shoulders, arms or legs - anywhere you want to draw attention, really.  The duo comes complete with a flawless application brush - even if you have a bigger brush you'd rather use, this is a great brush for travel since it's retractable and will slip right in your bag.  Summer may be coming quickly to a close (so depressing...) but with this powder, you'll be able to keep your glow well into the colder weather! 

The Geniune Jade Beauty Duo retails for $39.  You can find more info at www.bareescentuals.com.

Photo courtesy of Bare Escentuals