May 31, 2010

Like a sunburn, without the color

First let me just bring up the fabulousness of the Stila eyeliner mentioned in the previous post.  I put this eyeliner to the ultimate test:  Disney World for four days of 90 degree humid weather.  And I gotta say, it passed with flying colors!!!  I'm even more in love with this product and think everyone should get one or two or all five.

Moving on.  During my shopping extravaganza today, I got to hear a girl complain about how the adult size zero was "way to big for her".  Blech!  So in honor of the negative mood Twiggy put me in, I shall write my first negative review.

St. Ives is a pretty well known brand, and in actuality one that I have enjoyed on several occasions.  I like green tea.  I like St. Ives.  So when I saw that St. Ives was putting out a new line revolving around Green Tea, I couldn't have been happier.  Less than $10 later and I had a new Green Tea Face wash that promised to reduce any redness in my face.

The first time I tried the face wash, I didn't really have strong feelings one way or the other.  I didn't notice any reduction in redness but it didn't seem to be any worse than anything else I used.  Flash forward to day thee of use.  I got to the work rest room to wash my hands and almost fall down at my appearance in the mirror.  My Chin, cheeks, nose, and forehead have a white scaly look to them.  My first thought?  Uh oh, I put on too much foundation.  I take a paper towel, wet it down, and immediately start dabbing at my face.  No dice.  Awesome!  I get to spend the rest of the day trying to keep people far enough away that they won't notice.

The next day, I make sure to check my face before I leave...and go easy on foundation.  Imagine my horror when I again my face appears to be peeling.  I try to counteract this condition with additional moisturizer.  Again, no dice.  At this point I start to believe that Green Tea may have turned against me and stop using the product.  It took 5 days of using a different cleanser but finally my face no longer had the appearance of peeling off.

It's pretty gnarly to imagine the peeling, scaly appearance that was my chin, upper lip, and forehead.  For that reason, I cannot encourage anyone to subject themselves to this product.  At least when you peel from a sunburn, your skin is a nice color when it is done healing.  St. Ives Green Tea cleanser made me peel like a burn, but I was still pasty afterwards.

May 14, 2010

Welcome!

It's been awhile since I last blogged.  I have come to realize that I can use my obsession with trying out new beauty and bath products for something good.  Hence the creation of this blog.  I'll put my two cents in on things I've tried.  Maybe you agree, maybe you don't.  But at least you will have heard an honest opinion before you waste your own money.  Because really, is there anything more irritating than shelling out your hard earned cash to try something new, only to hate it, and throw it away after one use?

I guess I should start with a brief description of myself.  Green eyes, blondish hair and combination skin.  These things make it especially hard to find make up that will stay put for the day.  It has also been tricky finding a cleanser that cleansed without drying out my skin or making me break out.  Cause I forgot to mention that my facial skin is pretty sensitive too.

My number one pick for this week is:
Stila's new smudgepot eyeliner stick
Cost:  $20 per pencil
Colors:  about 7 ranging from the clubbish bright silver and gold to more traditional green, black, brown and purple
Available at:www.stilacosmetics.com
www.sephora.com
www.ulta.com
Why this rocks:
How many times have you been thrilled with your eyeliner when you put it on in the morning, only to look like you had a wild night by lunch time?  There's nothing worse than eyeliner smudge because it is a problem that is evident to everyone.  This new product essentially takes their renowned smudge pot formula and puts it in an easy to use self-sharpening pencil form.  I barely felt the pencil on my lid and got a solid line.  At bedtime, my eyeliner looked exactly as it did when i first applied it in the morning.  I bought the purple one and can't wait to try out the other colors.

Hope you find this helpful!