First batch of beauty reviews!

If you don't see pics in this blog entry in IE8, try a different browser! Not sure what's up...

LimeCrime lipsticks

I am a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE fan of this brand - I mean, HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE!!!! These are the brightest lipsticks you will find anywhere! I've been a follower of Doe Deere Blogazine for quite some time and thought I was gonna crap a brick when these lipsticks were finally launched by the lovely Doe herself. I have 8 out of the 10 currently available (more to be released soon!!), largely due to a VERY generous gift certificate from a lovely friend who knows what makes me tick! They range from movie star red to sky blue to creamsicle to black - you simply have to visit their web site to see them in all their glory. They go on opaque and smooth right from the tube, and they smell great and seem to be very conditioning. I've found with my full lip shape that it helps to use Sally Hansen Prep & Perfect Lipcare OR e.l.f. Lip Lock Pencil, a clear liner, before applying the lipstick, simply because these keep the color within the bounds of my shape. (So I guess this is three reviews in one!) But that's not to say you have to use those extra products to get a fabulous payoff. They are truly great on their own! When I wear these colors, I feel instantly more confident and creative and fabulous. They pick me up on the dreariest of days. The best reactions I've received when wearing these are: 1) when my aunt met me for lunch one day and said, "That's the brightest lipstick I've ever seen!" (meanwhile, she's wearing bright hot pink herself) and 2) when I met our other bestie, Bonarcissist, at the store, and she turned around and saw me and actually jumped back a little!! Awesome.

You just don't know how fantastic you can feel in sky blue lipstick until you try it. (By the way, that's the one I'm wearing in the photos for our "Narcissa" story on our web site, and the shade is wonderfully named "No, She Didn't!") Just about anyone can pull off these colors; it's all in the way you present yourself and the way you tie your whole look together. They're $16 a tube and worth every cent.

Besides all this, Doe is a really, genuinely nice person who donates to animal rescue, and her blog is filled with so much interesting stuff and so much GLEE that I don't know who could resist it. There's something inspiring at every turn!

www.limecrimemakeup.com
www.doedeereblogazine.com


Olay Anti-Wrinkle Moisturizer

So...I am nearing 30. And that's okay. But I started noticing a few more lines in my forehead and around the corners of my eyes than I'd like. So with much dismay but also hope, I bought my first anti-wrinkle product. Come to find out, KameraWhore had already been using one for 5 years. I'm kidding; she'd only recently started using one as well.

Literally within a couple of days, it was like someone had Photoshopped my forehead with the airbrush tool! I was really surprised. The wrinkles aren't completely gone (and I'm not interested in looking 16 anyway), but they're much less noticeable. For $14.99 at the drugstore, I am really happy with this product. I'm not sure I want a separate night moisturizer too at this point...it seems the only major difference is that this one has sunscreen (a must for every day, duh). I just apply this anytime after washing my face.


pixi Eye Zone Brightener

I've been using this product for a few months now and am on my second tube. I resisted buying it for a while because of the $24 pricetag. But I felt like I looked tired all the time, and makeup alone wasn't doing the trick. I was drawn to the word "brightener" and decided to give it a go. It really does what it says it will do: it gives the area underneath your eyes a brightening, slightly energized boost. It contains hyaluronic acid to plump out fine wrinkles a bit. And though it doesn't stay white as you blend it into your skin, it does leave a whitish, highlighted look behind. I definitely feel like I look a little more awake with this product than without. Make sure to apply moisturizer before applying this product. The more moisture your skin contains to begin with, the less wrinkles will be noticeable.

http://www.pixibeauty.com/ or at Target

pixi Eye Bright Kit

Well, I've been known to plunk down some cash on beauty products, but this is another one I waited a while to get because I wondered how a $24 concealer could be better than what I was using. However, now that I have it, I love it! I use it in conjunction with pixi's Eye Zone Brightener (it was after I discovered how good EZB was that I decided to give this one a shot as well). It's better than regular concealer...it is a cutely packaged quad with 2 concealers, a cheek highlighter, and a brightener. I got the No. 1 Fair/Medium kit, and the concealers do a good job without looking cakey or creasy, and I especially love using the whitish brightener on the inner corners of my eyes. I've definitely decided pixi is worth the price. Between the two products, I feel like I look more refreshed.


http://www.pixibeauty.com/ or at Target


L'Oreal Lash Boosting Serum & Double Extend Mascara {2-Piece Kit}

I have a lash thing. An obsession, really. An unhealthy, all-consuming obsession. I've tried just about every mascara under the sun that promises death-defying lengths. They show me a commercial where the models are obviously wearing fake lashes, and I tell myself I'm not falling for it this time, but then I inevitably do. Damn them. I've been a longtime fan of L'Oreal's Telescopic mascara. It's the one I always go back to. But with the new version of Double-Extend that includes a lash boosting primer, I think they have outdone themselves. My lashes look as long as they do with Telescopic but more hairlike and separated. I only wish they'd make the mascara end of the tube larger than the primer end because I run out of mascara much faster since I apply more than one coat. Oh, and I'd love if it came in the Carbon Black color too so it's as black as possible.

I tried the night serum on my lashes for almost a month. This product doesn't promise to lengthen your lashes. It's not marketed as a Latisse substitute (and btw, I'm way too afraid to try that stuff because I am not risking an eye color change for my vanity, and besides, it costs an arm and a leg). It is basically a lash conditioner that's apparently supposed to allow your lashes to remain in their growth cycle for longer, thereby giving them more of a chance, theoretically, to grow. In my experience, I DID notice obvious extra length! My lashes also got a little darker and seemed more voluminous, and I could see them better when not wearing mascara. Sadly, though, I had to quit using it because the alcohol in it started drying out my lashlines to the point where they were red and itchy. It bothered me enough to where I wasn't willing to put up with it. Maybe if it weren't wintertime, I wouldn't have this issue. I might try again in the spring or summer. But I really REALLY wish they'd remove alcohol from the ingredients. It seems like an oxymoron anyway when you're talking about a product that's supposed to condition, not dry. However, not everyone will have this problem, obviously. It's definitely worth your $12 to find out. The kit with both the serum and the mascara is about $24.95, which seems pretty reasonable to me for two products.

The only other thing bothering me is L'Oreal's rumored animal testing. We Narcissisters love our animals to pieces, and they're all rescues, and we can't bear the thought of animals suffering for our vanity.
 
http://www.loreal.com/ & major retailers