A Dog Eat Dog Eyeshadow: Buxom Stay-There

Buxom (a Bare Escentuals derivative turned full cosmetics line) recently launched a new eyeshadow.  I'm not easily tempted by new eyeshadows since I'm very picky about texture, have pretty much every color I need, and I know the brands I like (MAC, Stila, and NARS).  However, this one promised something new, something different: an eyeshadow that actually stays put all day through sweat, tears, and rain.  And at the same time, an eyeshadow that is not quite a powder but not quite a cream.

Well, I took a chance and bought one of the eyeshadows (all named after dog breeds).  I tried Mutt, which is a lovely medium taupe shade with a bronze micro-shimmer (NOT glitter, which I hate since I am neither 14 nor Lady Gaga).  This shade is THE perfect shimmery taupe and it would easily suit any skintone.  I still can't figure out exactly what this shadow is, and the Buxom and Sephora web sites offer no clues except that it's formulated with Vitamin E.  It has a creamy/gel-like texture, but it is infinitely lighter and dryer than any cream eyeshadow I have ever tried.  Moreover, Buxom specifically says you can use it like a powder shadow with a dry brush.  Intriguing.  I'm determined to figure out what this stuff is.  But more important than what it is, is how well it works.  It goes on light and smooth and delivers a high payoff of color.  And unlike most cream shadows I've tried that promise not to crease and end up looking caked or greasy, it looks and feels light and airy on my skin, and it actually does stay all day.  I tested it out in New York humidity, and it survived a full day of heat, sweat, and even 20 minutes of waiting in a subway tunnel.  My eyeshadow was still in place at the end of the day. I only wish they had a greater color selection, but hey, it's new.

And for all you do-gooders out there, Buxom is making charitable contributions to Canine Companions with every purchase.

Sadly, ShopSense does not have a link to Buxom Stay-There to connect you directly to the shopping, so the picture above is not a link.  But you can find it exclusively at Sephora and www.sephora.com.

Style Icons: Brigitte Bardot

Brigitte Bardot was not only a fabulous French actress but also a fabulous style icon with enduring appeal.  This season, there have been countless fashion editorials paying homage to Bardot's elegant style, but her sultry makeup look is also imitable.

To create Bardot's look, start with flawlessly matte skin.  A good makeup primer that both smooths and mattifies like L'Oreal's Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base.  I like a matte finish foundation like a mineral powder or a liquid foundation with a matte finish.  If your foundation tends to be more dewy, just make sure to sweep some pressed powder across the face to get that matte finish.  Then sweep a soft layer of a sheer brighter tone blush across the apples of the cheeks.  I love a fabulous sheer fuchsia blush like NARS Mata Hari or a bright but sheer coral rose shade like NARS Taos. 

Next, groom the brows.  Bardot had that stronger full brow that is hot this season.  If your brows are sparse, use an angled brush with some powder brow filler like Anastasia's Brow Powder Duo.  The powder brow fillers are much softer and natural-looking than pencils.  Then apply a good eyeshadow primer to the entire lid and brow bone.  I like Benefit's Stay Don't Stray because it has more of a neutral cast and a nice liquid texture that doesn't feel too heavy or cakey.  Kat Von D also makes a good one, which has a slightly warmer cast.

Next use a big fluffy shadow brush to apply a matte light beige eyeshadow about one shade darker than your natural skintone.  For fair to medium complexions, Stila Dune is perfect.  Apply and blend the shadow from the lashline to the brow.  Next, you need another matte beige/taupe eyeshadow about another shade darker than your base for your contrast shade.  The key here is to keep the overall look very light.  Stila Puppy is a good one.  Then use a small stiff angled lining brush to line beneath the eye 3/4 around (just at the end of the iris is perfect) with a dark matte brown shade.  I suggest something in a warmer brown with some reddish undertones like NARS New York if you happen to have it, but sadly they don't make it anymore.  Illamasqua's Jules eyeshadow is very similar, and it has a rich velvety texture similar to NARS eyeshadows.  Use your brush to blend your line slightly to make it soft and smoky.

Next use a very thin and small liquid liner brush like MAC's #210 Precise Eye Liner Brush to apply a this black line of a gel eyeliner like Stila's Smudge Pot or MAC's Fluidline.  If you're squeamish about using black, then charcoal is a nice softer choice.  Using the small brush and pot of gel liner will be much easier to control than a traditional liquid liner, especially because you have control of how much product you put on the brush at once.  I suggest using a very tiny bit of gel at a time and connect the dots along the lash line instead of trying to create one straight line, which is almost impossible.  Bardot typically wore eyeliner in medium thickness with a slight curved wing at the corner.  The trick to doing the wing and making it look flawless and modern is to start with you brush slightly extended out and upward form the corner of the eye and draw the brush inward rather than outward.  It's much easier.  Also, if you can anchor your elbow against the mirror while you're applying liner, you'll have a steadier hand.  Finish with a good volumizing mascara.  Fusion Beauty's LashFusion XL is a good volumizing mascara that won't clump.

Finish your look with a matte honey/caramel lipstick.  First, line the lips with a nude lipliner like Hourglass Trace Lip Liner in Bare.  For warmer skintones like Bardot's, a medium caramel like MAKE UP FOR EVER's Rouge Artist Intense lipstick in #25 (satin caramel)  is perfect.  For cooler skintones, a more pinkish medium honey shade like NARS Blonde Venus is lovely.  And voila! 

Eyeliner by Stila

Trend Alert: Who's the Fairest?

The hotly-anticipated Venomous Villains line is coming to a MAC counter near you very soon, September 30 to be exact.  This is the fabulous Fall collection inspired by Disney's greatest (and most fabulously made up) villains.  I have it on good authority that MAC will be taking presales this coming week, so get there early because the good stuff (especially the two pigments) will go fast. 

The line up of fabulous villainesses includes Maleficent, the unnamed but well-groomed Evil Queen from "Snow White," and Cruella De Vil.  Noticeably absent is Ursula from "The Little Mermaid."  As I recall, she rocked a killer magenta-red lipstick. These evil divas may have been deranged, but they were also quite the fashionistas, which probably explains the immense popularity and interest surrounding this MAC collection.  So get to your local MAC counter soon to secure your presale.  It's wicked hot.

New Kids on the Block

New makeup and skincare lines are popping up all the time.  Some go far and some fizzle quickly, but for you product-junkies out there looking for the next big thing, I thought I'd do a quick wrap-up of what's new.

Hourglass

What It's About:
This line is all about old-Hollywood glamour and luxury.  It does good-quality products with high-impact color.  Best feature?  The line is dedicated to paraben-free products, and most of the products are fragrance-free as well.  Downside?  The expense, luxury doesn't come cheap in this line.  It may be expensive, but Hourglass doesn't make a bad product.  You can certainly find products that are as good or better for less, but you know if it's got the Hourglass name on it, it's going to be solid and high-quality.

Who It's For:  
The woman who loves quality and predictable excellence.  You may be paying $26 for a lipgloss, but you know you're getting a moisturizing, non-sticky, pricey-ingredient-list lipgloss. 


What to Buy:
I'm a fan of the aforementioned $26 lipgloss.  I only have one shade, in part because of the expense and in part because of the limited selection.  Nevertheless, it's a good every-day shade, a medium peach-nude.  The best thing about this lipgloss is the moisturizing Vitamin E formula.  It's very silky and lightweight, and it leaves your lips feeling soft and hydrated for hours.

The Veil Mineral Primer is another standout product.  It's not cheap at $52 for an ounce, but it has SPF 15 and it leaves your skin feeling smooth and looking pore-free.  It also absorbs this excess oil in the skin, so you get a perfectly matte but still luminous base for applying makeup.  This is one of the best primers, if not the best, I've tried.  You can read more about it in my Prime Time article.

Where to Buy: 
Right now, Hourglass is available at Sephora stores and on their web site.  It's also available at www.hourglasscosmetics.com and www.dermstore.com

Buxom

What It's About:
Buxom is a playful offshoot of Bare Escentuals.  It started as part of the Bare Escentuals line with a plumping lipgloss called the Big and Healthy Lip Polish.  From there, the line has expanded to include a plumping lipstick, lip balm, mascara, eyeshadow, and eyeliner.  And it's constantly growing.  Best feature?  Color selection.  There is truly something for everyone.  Downside?  VERY sticky lipgloss.

Who It's For:
The woman who loves bright colors and kitsch.  Buxom is full of kitsch from the scantily-clad Buxom characters who appear on the packaging to the creative marketing, including salacious stories about the Buxom girls' adventures.  (I recently bought the "Laura Does London" gift-set just because it boasted my name, so I guess I fell into the kitschy marketing gimmick).

What to Buy:
I'm just not a fan of the Big and Healthy Lip Polish.  I wanted to like it, and I particularly wanted to like the shade with my namesake, but it's just not working for me so back to the store it goes.  Even though I think that the colors are great, the names and packaging are cute, and the menthol-induced tingly plumping action is bearable, I just don't like the formula.  It's far too sticky.  Let's face it: it's silly to be walking around with sticky lips just because the package has a cute little cartoon character with your name in a pin-up costume.  So the lipgloss for me is more of a "what not to buy."

The lipstick on the other hand is a winner.  It gives a creamy matte finish, and it comes in a slender package, sort of half-way in shape and size between a lipstick and a lipliner.  And in fact, it does both.  It also comes with a detachable sharpener on the other end so that you can keep the tip sharp to line and then fill in the lips.  It gives the same menthol-plumping action of the lip polish (great as long as you don't mind a lot of minty tingle but not the best plumper I've ever tried.  The real benefit of the lipstick is not so much the plumping, but the smooth creamy staying power.  It's formulated with vitamins A, C, and E, so it leaves your lips feeling soft.  Also, a light application gives you a powerful punch of color, particularly in the bright shades.  I tried Monte Carlo, a bright fuchsia-magenta shade, and I loved it.  This is actually a very wearable shade for most-every skintone (I'm fair with auburn hair and green eyes), but I think it would look particularly amazing on medium tanned-to-olive skin.  I'm dying to try it on my lovely Lebanese friend.  She has warm medium-golden skin, and I think this shade would look amazing on her.

The Buxom eyeshadow is also surprisingly good.  It's very silky and lightweight in texture.  It blends easily and stays well without creasing.  This is a new product for Buxom and it's still very limited in shade-selection, but I'm hoping it will expand because this has a very similar texture to NARS eyeshadow, but it's less expensive at $17.

Where to Buy:
Right now, you can find the full collection of Buxom products at Sephora exclusively, but the Bare Escentuals and ULTA web sites also have a limited selection of the lipglosses.

Josie Maran

What It's About:
Josie Maran is all about eco-friendly, organic, recyclable, and biodegradable packaging and products.  The entire line of skincare and cosmetics is green, nontoxic, and free of animal-testing.

Who It's For:
The environmentally-conscious eco-chic woman who wants simple, high-quality products.  All the products are made with high-quality organic ingredients, most famously, Argan oil, which is a famous beauty-secret for literally everything from skin to fingernails to hair to eyelashes.

What to Buy:
Definitely get at least a little bottle of the Argan Oil to try it.  A half-ounce is only $14, and it's a great introduction to the line as Argan Oil is a star ingredient in almost all of Maran's products.  But it's also a great cure-all on its own.  It's rich in antioxidants and good-for-you fatty acids.  It's an all-in-one skin treatment and moisturizer.  It's great and very gentle around the eyes.  It helps with fine lines and firming, but it also nourishes dry skin.  I love to rub a tiny bit into the ends of my hair after washing and before drying to moisturize and ward off split ends.  You can also use it pretty much anywhere that could use some softening and hyrdration, especially the nailbeds and lips.

I'm also a fan of the mascara.  It has the Argan oil, and it also has jojoba oil, which nourish the lashes to prevent lash-fallout.  If you tend to lose lashes when you remove your mascara, this one's for you.  It's a lash treatment in addition to being a good basic mascara.  The wand is nothing fancy, just simple and classic, but it gives good clean coverage and lengthening without clumping.  This is no revolution in mascara, but it's gentle and good for the lashes, and of course, eco-friendly.

Sephora also has a great introductory Josie Maran kit with a small Argan Oil, a full-size mascara, a full-size eyeliner, a full-size lipgloss, and a cream blush for a great price, $24, which is how I got acquainted with the line.  I have a link to the kit below.


Where to Buy:
You can find Josie Maran products at www.josiemarancosmetics.com, and of course, Sephora.

Illamasqua

What It's About:
This U.K. brand was designed to be an edgy nighttime line, inspired by 1920's Berlin nightclubs.  The colors are highly-pigmented and dramatic.  It's a high-quality and long-lasting color makeup line, meaning no skincare.  If I was Lady Gaga's makeup artist, I'd use this line.  Best feature?  Quality product in sleek and chic packaging.  Downside?  Limited color-selection for the faint of heart, many of the shades are highly pigmented, dark, bright, or some combination thereof.  Then again, this is only a downside for me because I'm fair-skinned and work in a conservative office environment.  This would be a definite plus for many women of color who feel washed out in standard-fare lipsticks. 

Who It's For:
The edgy, trendy makeup connoisseur.  Also excellent for the woman of color who is looking for a selection of highly-pigmented brighter/darker lipsticks and eyeshadows that don't wash her out.  But even though many of the colors are daring, Illamasqua makes one of my favorite day-time lipsticks as well. 

What to Buy:
Definitely get one of the lipsticks.  They're all matte in formula and very rich in pigment.  They go on smooth and creamy and they stay put all day.  Illamasqua has some truly gorgeous bright reds, magentas, oranges, eggplants, and even a black lipstick (not my cup of tea, but certainly hard to find for those in need of a black lipstick).  For daytime, I love Scandal, a pretty medium-toned warm coral-pink.  For a bit more evening drama, I think that Illamasqua makes two of the best of-the-moment orange-red lipsticks, Blaze (a true matte tangerine) and Ignite (a more reddish orange).

Check out Illamasqua's Liquid Metal eyeshadows is you like metallics on the eye. They're a light-as-air whipped cream in highly-pigmented metallic colors.  It blends easily and stays well without creasing.  It also makes a great base for other powder eyeshadow shades if you just want to add some soft shimmer that glows underneath your eyeshadow and helps it to stay in place all day.  I tend to wear more matte eye-shades than shimmer or metallic, so I'd love it if they brought out this formula for matte eyeshadow shades. 


Where to Buy:
You can find Illamasqua at Sephora and www.illamasqua.com

Eye Shadow at Sephora

Makeup Don't: Shimmery Beige Lipstick/Gloss

This is one of my personal pet peeves, and I remember it being big in the grungy 90's era of my junior high days, but it seems that it has made a BIG comeback lately: shimmery beige-tan lipstick and/or gloss.  It's particularly bad on women with tanned skin, where the lip color blends in with the skintone, creating a washed out effect.  Tragically, this lip color has become popular among many Hollywood actresses who are self-proclaimed "cougars."  Many women in the general populace have followed suit, and the result is not good.  

It's not that shimmery beige lipstick doesn't have its place, it does.  Depending one one's own skintone and the undertones of the lipstick itself (some are more cool/pink based and others are more warm/yellow based), a golden-toned beige can be a very nice shade on African American women (particularly with medium skintones, like Oprah) and on the other end of the spectrum, very pale but golden skintones and light hair color, as seen with many natural blonds (think Renee Zellweger).  And even then, it looks better in a creamy formula than a shimmery formula.  However, as a general rule, beige lipstick (especially shimmery beige) is the most unnatural looking lip color.  And it looks terrible on women with tanned skin.  It is much better to go with a sheer pink, berry, plum, coral, or something with at least a hint of color similar to the natural lip than a beige/tan/light brown shade.  And shimmer just adds a layer of unsophistication to an already unflattering lipcolor.  I don't tend to like shimmery lipsticks and glosses in general because they tend to look dated, but with beige or tan, it looks particularly unattractive. 

Although there are many many Hollywood offenders, I offer for your consideration Teri Hatcher and Lisa Rinna, two beautiful forty-something actresses that have an unfortunate tendency to over-tan and wear a coordinating beige-tan lipstick that blends in with their skin. To her credit, Hatcher is not tanning in the photograph below, but note that the beige lipstick still looks awful.

Yet when these same women wear a more natural and flattering pink or berry shade, they look so much better (and alive!).

Runway Alert: Natural and Fresh

The so-called "natural" look is always a runway favorite for Summer. It's hot and balmy, so who wants colorful eye makeup melting all over the place? But often this look requires more product and precision than the more dramatic looks like the smoky eye. The runway makeup artists NEVER send a model down the runway with just some moisturizer and chap-stick. People look at these models and think that they must just be naturally perfect, and though they are admittedly gorgeous women, even they need a lot of prep to look "naturally" perfect. Case in point was the Spring 2010 Gucci show. Famed runway makeup artist Pat McGrath did the girls' makeup for the show.

Here's how you can recreate this look at home:  Start with a good mattifying foundation primer like one of the ones I suggest in my Prime Time article (Korres, Smashbox, Arbonne, Loreal, and Hourglass all make good ones).  Then apply your foundation of choice.

Next, groom and define the eyebrows with a little brow gel.  I like the tinted brow gel from Anastasia, but Anastasia also makes a clear brow gel if you prefer.  To get the Gucci look shown above, try brushing your brows upward a bit with the gel brush.  You want your brows to look full and defined, but natural.  So avoid dark brow gels or heavy brow pencils and powders.

For the cheeks, dust a sheer fuchsia (trust me on this one) blush lightly and high on the cheekbones (this is the technique McGrath used at Gucci and it gives a more modern youthful look than applying the blush to the apples).  My favorite fuchsia blush from Anna Sui has tragically been discontinued, so I suggest using MAKE UP FOR EVER's blush powder in No. 26, a very sheer bright pinkish fuchsia.  You could also use a hot pink/raspberry shade like MAC's Dollymix powder blush.  I promise that this will look natural.  The key is to use very sparingly by patting your brush just once in the blush and tapping off all excess.  Then use a very light hand to apply the blush to the high cheekbones in a slow circular motion.  You don't want any defined edges, so if you get too much blush on or find that it's looking striped, use a clean blush brush to blend as much as possible and then use a powder brush to apply loose powder over the blush, blending it.  Once you get used to using just a tiny amount of product and a very light hand, this fuchsia blush trick will become a fast favorite.

For the eyes, apply a good eyeshadow base (Benefit's Stay Don't Stray in my favorite) to the entire lid.  Then apply a light matte skintone shade to the lid and browbone.  I use MAC's Orb personally, which is a pale bone color.  You want to use something just one shade lighter than your skin to add some brightness and definition to the eye area.  Next, use a dark brown liquid liner like Loreal's Lineur Intense in Earthen Rock Brown.  To keep the line very fine, either wipe the excess off the liner brush or better yet, use a separate clean liner brush to apply as little product as possible.  The easiest way to get a clean straight line is to take your liquid liner brush and point it directly at the eye and make tiny dots right in between the lashes.  Then slowly and precisely connect the dots.  Next, sweep a medium matte taupe eyeshadow across the crease and under the lower lashline to add subtle contour.  NARS eyeshadow single in Blondie is a great medium taupe shade for this look.  Finally, add a coat of a lengthening dark brown mascara like Covergirl's Lashblast Length mascara in Black Brown.

The final touch for this look is a light pink lip balm like Korres's lip butter in Plum, which gives he lips a really sheer moist lavender-berry finish, or the same formula in Jasmine, which is a very sheer natural pink.  The shea butter in the Korres lip butters will give your lips a healthy moist look and feel, like that achieved in the pictures of the Gucci show above.  You could also line your lips with a very light nude lip pencil for extra definition.  Josie Maran makes a good one called Natural.  I'm also a fan of the smooth lip pencils from NARS, and NARS makes a nude lip pencil called Morocco. 

Those are the steps to the natural look.  Once you do it once or twice, it's a breeze to get ready in the morning.

Eyeliner by L'Oreal

The New Neutral: Mauve Over Brown!

Berries, plums, and silvery mauves are THE hot shades on the runway this season.  The reason that everyone from celebrities to makeup artists goes nuts for these shades is because they are universally flattering and wearable.  No matter your skin tone or your eye color or hair color, purples and particularly the more neutral variations like plum and mauve look divine.  They can be soft and subtle for day or dark and smoky for evening.  They can even be bright and wild for a night out when you're feeling daring.  Sometimes, all of these looks can be accomplished with the same shade depending on wear you apply it, how much, and whether you use it wet or dry.  Here are a few of my favorite "new neutral" eyeshadows and ways to wear them.  And here's a picture of Eva Longoria rocking a smoky eggplant eye at a recent event.

NARS Tokyo Eye Duo
This is a beautiful soft smoky mauve duo that is perfect for everyday-wear, even at a conservative office.  The light shade, a pale silvery mauve, makes a lovely base for the lid.  Apply it dry for a soft day look or wet on the lid for a bolder evening look.  Choose a soft shimmer or bone color for a highlighting shade on the brow bone.  Then sweep the darker shade from the NARS duo, a medium mauve-taupe into the crease.  You can easily transition this soft, subtle look to evening  by applying a little black eyeliner and "smoking" it up by using a thick eyeliner-blending brush to run the darker mauve shade over the eyeliner, blending it into a smoky plummy haze.  Expert purple eyeshadow tip:  keep the purple concentrated on the top lid rather than below the eye.  Purple eyeshadows underneath the eye, unless they are very bright, tend to make the eyes appear bruised or tired.

Estee Lauder Berry Ice and Pale Moon Eyeshadows
Estee Lauder makes two of my all-time favorites, my go-to eyeshadow look for all occasions.  These are wet/dry shadows, but I really like to use my base shadow, Pale Moon, wet and the contouring shade, Berry Ice, dry.  After applying your favorite eye primer, wet a flat-shadow brush and apply Pale Moon (a light silvery mauve-pink) all over your lid and blend out into the crease.  Then take a fluffy crease-brush and sweep the Berry Ice (a medium berry-plum) shade into the crease, creating a half-arc around the eye and sweeping down toward the lash line.  Add mascara and you're good to go for the office.  For an evening look with a little extra pop, take a wet angled lining brush and dip it in a deep matte violet shade like NARS Daphne.  Line both the upper and lower lash line with this one.  It's ok to line the lower lash line with a shade like this because it's both dark and bright enough in color to not make you look like you have a black eye.  Blend it outward at the outer corner of the eye for a gorgeous smoky finish.

Bare Escentuals Eye Glimmer in Soul Sister
Sometimes, a very special eyeshadow comes along that stands alone.  For me, those are typically loose pure pigment eyeshadows like those by MAC and Bare Escentuals.  This one is a gorgeous rich and dark plummy aubergine with a shimmery finish.  After I prep my eyelids with some eye primer, I like to take a flat eyeshadow brush and sweep this sexy shade over my entire lid, using a blending brush to blend it into the crease.  That and some mascara, and you've got a sexy and simple date look.  If you want to, you can always add a smoky coat of black or charcoal eyeliner, but please, stick with the top lid only.  This eyeshadow is so great at making your eyes sparkle and stand out without anything else, you don't want to go too heavy with the eyeliner.  I wear this look with a little bronzer and neutral tawny cheeks and some light plummy-nude lipgloss.

MAC Purple Haze
This is a bolder brighter medium violet shade for those who want a pop of color.  It's easy to incorporate.  Just start with your favorite natural eye look (taupes, golds, bronzes, and champagnes, whether matte or sparkly are all great for this look).  Then, simply wet an angled eyeliner brush and use it to apply a thin line to the lower lash line and inner eye-rim of the lower lash line.  Then, wipe the excess shadow from the brush and use the brush to blend a little bit around the lash line.  The key to keeping bright shadows like this looking fresh instead of like an 80's explosion is to concentrate the color on an otherwise neutral eye, which is why you don't want any eyeliner on the upper lid.  So you want to keep that line really thin but slightly blended for a hazy eye worthy of the Purple Haze name.  Just add mascara, preferably a softer brown or black-brown instead of black so that the drama is all focused on that lower lash line. 

Expert tip: you can use this runway secret with ANY bright color for the same effect.  Just remember to keep that line of color as thin as you can and concentrated more on the inner rim than the lash line, and keep the rest of the eye and face very soft and neutral.

Eye Shadow by M·A·C

Calling all Mascara Players

Givenchy has recently rejuvenated its cosmetics lines with some truly interesting products I can't wait to get my paws on (especially the odd-looking Mr. Lash Booster, but that's for another time).  First up is a new mascara.  Now I've tried a lot of mascaras, and much like shampoos/conditioners, I tend to get bored and start looking for the next great thing after the first few uses.  Yes, I'm a serial mascara user, a mascara commitmaphobe if you will.  Because mascara is something that really needs to be replaced every 4-6 weeks, it tends to go downhill fast.  Each time you use it, air and bacteria get it, which quickly transform your mascara from a smooth lash-defining little black dress of makeup to a cakey clumpy mess.  I realize it's not really the mascara's fault, but inevitably I take it out on the product and move on to the next.  By now, I'm a bit mascara-jaded and not easily impressed.  Curved brushes, plastic non-bristled brushes, combs . . . I've seen and tried them all.  And I've rarely bought the same formula more than a couple of times (shout out to CoverGirl Lashblast: you made it 3 replacements before I started seeking a Bigger Better Deal).  So I was excited to try this funky looking mascara from Givenchy called Phenomen'Eyes, but I wasn't really looking for a long-term commitment.  I was thinking it was going to be more of a one time thing.  But as it turns out, this mascara is, well, it's special. 

Phenomen'Eyes is a spherical-shaped wand with well-spaced bristles of various lengths.  The result is that you can reach those pesky corner lashes that other mascaras seem to always miss or pile on way too much product.  Also, this shape seems to be the ideal for lengthening while avoiding clumping.  It really defines all the individual lashes.  For the first time, I felt like I had those unobtainable magazine photo lashes.  You know the really close-up shots of lashes that always look like they must be purely computer-generated since they are long, perfectly separated lash-by-lash, and impossibly curvy.  While a combination is using this product after the Shu Uemura eyelash curler delivered on that seriously defined fanned out look.  I think I'm in love.  It's too bad that this mascara costs $29.  As often as I replace them and given my partiality to $5 drugstore mascaras, that is one expensive mascara.  But I honestly think it's worth every penny.  I've only used it a few times though, so I'll have to see how it does as it ages.  Even though I give Givenchy credit where credit is due, I really do hope that Maybelline or CoverGirl catch on and copy this design.

Now, one problem that I've heard some people have had with this product is related to the formula rather than the design.  Some have complained that it smudges too easily.  I didn't have this problem myself, but I do have a solution for it if you try this mascara and find that it smudges: use a very light coat of lash primer first.  The mascara will bind to the lash primer and prevent it from smudging.  You don't want to go to heavy with the primer though and you need to get the mascara on immediately before the primer dries (that means you have to do one complete eye at a time) because otherwise the primer will stiffen the lashes and you'll lose the benefits of the shaping and defining properties of this wand.  Hopefully, Givenchy will improve the formula regarding the smudging issue or come out with a waterproof version because the wand design is perfection.

Prime Time Part Deaux: Eye Primers

I find that eye primers are critical to a smooth, lasting, non-creasing eye look.  The right primer can also bring out the vibrancy of your eyeshadow.  I love face primer, but if I'm in a hurry in the morning, I admit that I sometimes skip it.  However, I never skip the eye primer when I'm wearing eye makeup.  Here are a few primers I've tried in the past week.  And here's how they compare to my all time favorite: MAC's Paint Pot in Painterly.

MAC
MAC is generally tough to beat in the eye makeup department.  It's a good quality, highly-pigmented, affordable product.  But I'm an especially big fan of MAC's paint pots.  Technically, this is a creamy eyeshadow that dries  smooth and long-wearing.  But I am of the opinion that even though this technically is not a primer, it does the trick very nicely.  I use the shade Painterly, a nice light cool to neutral toned nude-beige that matches my skintone.  MAC also makes this formula is several other fleshy shades, including one that is a bit warmer, Soft Ochre, and one that is great for medium skintones, Groundwork, and one for darker skintones, Quite Natural.  In addition to the smooth staying-power of these paints, I really like that they have several shades that match real skintones.  Many eye primers are "one color fits all" and tend to be very yellow tones, which is not flattering for me.  And personally, I feel that the yellow-based primers distort my eyeshadows in an unflattering way, making them appear more yellow on my skin.  That is why I always choose eye shadow bases/primers that are as close as possible to the skintone, or slightly lighter.  And at $16.50 a pop, these paints are nicely priced.  Here's how the other primers I tried stacked up to my favorite.

Urban Decay
I tried a sample Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Eden.  I was not pleased with this because it was way too yellow, but in fairness to the product, they do make a sheer nude shade that I might have preferred.  The overall texture was fine, and it definitely helped my eyeshadow stay all day just as well as the MAC product I like.  But I had a strange reaction to this product.  My eyelids suddenly became red and irritated as the product dried.  The sensation went away after about 15 minutes or so, but my eyelids were very irritated for a while, which caused me to postpone applying my eyeshadow since I didn't want to agitate the area with a brush.  I don't typically have cosmetic allergies, but who knows, I may be allergic to something in the product.  But I know this is a popular primer with a lot of the makeup artists I know, so it may just be me.  However, if you tend to have skin allergies or sensitivities, I would do a patch test first before spreading this all over your eyelids.  In any case, between the overly yellow color and the irritation, I doubt I'll be trying this again.

Kat Von D
Yes, the famed sexy tattoo artist started her own makeup line.  I guess I should have seen that one coming.  This is the first product I've tried from the line, and I must say especially after my Urban Decay experience, I was impressed with the High Voltage Eye Primer.  The primer was smooth and lightweight.  It spread easily, and I like that it comes in a wand form.  However, the ease of the wand is somewhat deceptive since it holds too much product, so it's not useful for blending.  You either have to blend with your finger or preferably, a concealer brush.  I am used to using a concealer brush to apply my Paint Pot, so that's not a problem.  I think that if you wipe the wand thoroughly on the edge of the tube, you may be able to use it to blend the product.  But chances are you'll still end up blending the edges with your finger.  Even though the shade of this product is not bad, a "universal" nude, it's still a bit on the yellow side for me.  But my bigger complaint is that it does not come in shades to match other skintones.  There is a deep dark charcoal color, but that is not going to match anyone's skintone.  And while there are different thoughts on whether you really need your primer to match your skintone, my question is if you can get a product that does match, why the heck would you want to use something way too dark, too light, too yellow, or too pink?  So basically, I think that Ms. Von D has a good product here, but I'd like to see her expand the options to accommodate a wider range of skintones rather than trying to mass off a warm yellowish nude as "universal." 

Benefit
Benefit's Stay Don't Stray is a winner.  It's interesting because it's not just an eyeshadow primer, it's also designed to primer underneath your eyes to keep your under-eye concealer form creasing.  It comes in a pump format, so you can apply and blend it with either your finger or your concealer brush.  Beware: I got lazy and decided to use my finger instead of a brush when I tried this, and it did not wash off very easily, even with soap.  I had to break out the makeup remover.  But I took that as a good sign that it was definitely going to prevent concealer and eyeshadow from running, fading, or creasing.  And boy did it!  This is a fantastic non-greasy gem with staying power.  My under-eye concealer has never looked so good, particularly during the July heat when it tends to run and crease easily.  You're definitely gonna need a good eye-makeup remover to get it off.  Once again, it is only sold it one color, a "universal" nude.  However, I thought that this one really was more universal because it is pretty sheer and neutral-toned (equal parts of cool pink base and warm yellow base).  I'd still like to see them make at least one more a few shades darker for women with medium to dark skintones.  But overall, I think that this is a great product.  It's a few bucks more than the MAC at $24, but I think I would use the MAC for everyday and reserve the Benefit for days when I need a little extra staying power because of the heat or a photo shoot.  This one's definitely going in my wedding makeup kit.

Face Primer by Benefit

Runway Alert: Renaissance Inspired Luxe

At the Fall 2010 Nanette Lepore show, MAC makeup artists went for a striking two-tone magenta and burgundy lip with a heavily-lined smoky eye.  This look certainly isn't for everyday, but it's a fun and trendy night look.  Here's how to recreate the look:  apply a nude eyeshadow base, like MAC's Paint Pot in Painterly.  Then take MAC's Eye Kohl in Smolder (or any other great easily blendable soft black eyeliner) and line the inner rims of the eye together with the top lashline.  Then, smudge the liner bit, particularly around the outer corners.  For a softer look, you could use a charcoal wet/dry eyeshadow with a wet angled liner brush to achieve the same effect.  I recommend Bare Escentuals loose eyeshadow in Wearable Stone Dark for a great blendable charcoal shadow.

Keep the cheeks soft and understated with a hint of bronzer or a soft rosy-nude blush like Smaskbox's Bare (shimmery) or Estee Lauder's Desert (matte).  Then line the top lip with MAC's Magenta lipliner (you could also use a nude lipliner like NARS Morocco, as I prefer to do with bright lipcolors), and fill it in with a magenta or fuchsia lipstick like MAC's Utter Fun or Love Forever (the latter shade was used during the Lepore show but won't release until September 2010).  Next, fill in the entire lower lip with MAC's Burgundy lipliner.  The MAC makeup artists then mixed two lipstick shades: Odyssey and Charred Red, and then layered that over the Burgundy lipliner.  This created a bright creamy ruby look on the lower lip.  I think you can get the same effect with a single lipstick, like Illamasqua's Box, a matte deep ruby red.  Or you can just use Odyssey alone over the Burgundy for a slightly more daring purple-based lower lip.  In either case, I think that the slight contrast between the lower and upper lip provides some visual interest.  It's a fabulous runway and photo shoot look, but you can also pull it off for a night on the town.
 

Runway Alert: Red-Orange Matte Lipstick

Of all the Fall 2010 runway makeup looks, I think that this look at Vena Cava is one of the versatile.  You can wear it now and later.  It's the cleanness of the rest of the face that makes this bright lipstick look so modern.  I recreated this look at home by taking my favorite bronzer, Estee Lauder's Bronze Goddess and sweeping it along the hairline and cheek bones for a lightly bronzed look.  After shaping the brows with some Anastasia brow gel and priming the eyelids with some of Benefit's Stay Don't Stray eye primer, I used a flat brush to apply MAC eyeshadow in Orb (a light matte nude-beige).  I then added a subtle shimmery highlight to the brow bone with Stila's Kitten eyeshadow (a pale golden champagne).  After that, I used a tapered crease brush to apply a bit of the bronzer to the crease and blended upward and outward along the top of the crease in the shape of the natural arch of the brow.  I finished with some brown volumizing mascara, CoverGirl's Lashblast Volume in Black Brown.  I use black brown mascara instead of true brown because I have darker hair and eyebrows, but blondes would look better with a true brown mascara.  Then I prepped my lips with a little Rosebud lip balm and lined them with a nude lipliner, NARS Morocco.

This is one of my best tips for pulling off bright lipstick: always use lipliner, but do not use a matching shade.  Instead, use a light fleshy nude.  It will give your lips the proper shape and keep your bright color from bleeding, but it won't leave that garish bright ring around your lips as your lipstick wears.  I also feel that no matter how bright your lipstick, you can always see a bright lipliner and that demarcation looks old-fashioned, which is why I only use two lipliners for all my lipsticks.  One is a very light rosy lip-toned pink for my cool toned lipsticks, and the other is my nude lipliner for my warm toned lipsticks and my brights.

After shaping my lips with the liner, I added the big finish: Illamasqua's lipstick in Ignite, a very matte red-orange. Illamasqua is a relatively new U.K. brand inspired by 1920's Berlin, and it delivers on the bright matte lipsticks. Their formula is very long-wearing and creamy, and their color selection is full of dramatic high impact options as well as the everyday. I also tried this same look with a favorite Estee Lauder vibrant matte magenta-berry lipstick that has tragically been discontinued. It's a great look that again, emphasizes a bright lip but comes off as very modern and polished. Illamasqua makes two shades that are very similar to mine: Resist is on the berry side and Welt is a bit more violet-fuchsia. Both would look great with this simple lightly bronzed look, and I think this look is fabulous for the Summer as well as the Fall.

Face Bronzer by Estee Lauder

We Will Plump You Up!

There are lots of new plumping lipglosses on the market, each one promising to make your lips fuller, smoother, and glossier than the last.  Here's the real scoop on three of the latest topsellers:

Too Faced
Too Faced makes a lip plumper called Glamour Gloss.  It promises to give you a plumped shiny pout that is "pain-free" and "cooling."  I tried it in Flirt to see if it lives up to those claims.  First off, Flirt is a great natural pinkish nude color.  It's described as a cool toned pink mocha, and I think that's accurate.  It's a very pretty natural-looking color.  And even though I found it cooling, I can't say it was "pain-free."  It is cooling in a menthol sort of way, and it does impart some minor stinging sensation.  Now this part doesn't really bother me; I was a fan of the old Lip Venom "spicy" gloss that stung my lips into a swollen pout.  But my bigger complaint about the Too Faced plumper is the stickiness of the gloss.  That I cannot abide.  I tried to salvage it by applying a layer of lip balm first because the color is so pretty, and that does help with the stickiness, but I still think we can do better.

Fusion Beauty
Fusion Beauty has long been considered the gold standard in lip plumping.  It's $50 LipFusion XL uses collagen and hyaluronic acid to dramatically plump lips.  But it's clear, so you still have to apply a lipstick or gloss over the top.  Their newest invention is a plumping gloss called Infatuation.  It promises to boost natural lip fat without irritants and silicone.  I tried star-favorite Big and Bare, a nice medium plummy nude.  Again, I love the color.  As for the pumping benefits?  I found that it was better than the Too Faced for plumping but not quite as good as the LipFusion XL, but considering the gloss gives you color too and it's $29, I think it's a good deal.  The friendly helper at Sephora told me that you really have to use this one every day to get the maximum lip-fattening benefits.  I can't see myself using the it every day, so I may never realize my maximum lip-fat potential I guess, but I must say, it is very comfortable to wear.  It's more cooling than stinging, and it' smooth and non-sticky.  Over all, I like this one much better than the Too Faced plumper.  As far as pumping products go, it's only beaten by the other Fusion product, and it's the very best of the colorful lipglosses I tried.

TheBalm
TheBalm is known for making smooth, comfortable lip products loaded with Vitamin E, so I was surprised and intrigued when I found out they had created a lip plumper.  Could it be that I'd found the holy grail of comfortable lip plumpers?  I tried the Plump Your Pucker in Cocoa My Coconut, a light creamy nude.  Aside from the kitschy names, I must complain that there is not much to offer in terms of shade selection.  And most of them are sparkly, which I'm not a fan of, particularly in a lipgloss.  Lipgloss is already making your lips shiny, so why would glitter be necessary?  In any case, the shade I tried was ok, but a bit too nude for my pale skin.  I was underwhelmed.  Moreover, the active ingredients are menthol and folic acid, making this gloss even more uncomfortable and irritating than the Too Faced one.  What's worse is I don't think my lips really looked that much plumper after applying this stuff.  What a disappointment.  It's too bad because I really like some of the other TheBalm products, but this one, well, it bombed.

Lip Gloss by Too Faced

The Antioxidant Craze

Antioxidants are hot right now, and for good reason.  Super-berries like acai and blueberries as well as delectable pomegranate juice are showing up in everything from smoothies to cocktails.  But getting your daily dose of antioxidants is not just for your internal health, it's also fantastic for the skin.  Some companies, like Estee Lauder, have been doing it for years.  Their moisturizer, DayWear Plus (which is not just for day anymore thanks to its non-penetrating SPF) is loaded with soothing antioxidants.  I used to work as a makeup artist for Lauder and recommended this moisturizer for those with sensitive, irritated, and acne-prone skin.  I also found that clients with Rosacea experienced a substantial improvement with this moisturizer.  It may not be a cure-all product for everyone, but the antioxidants definitely help smooth and improve the skin's texture and color.  Whenever my skin is feeling irritated, I go straight for this product.  And the non-penetrating SPF is a godsend.  It's designed to stay on the surface of your skin so it doesn't get into your pores and cause irritation but still gives you the same sun protection.  A lot of people have bad reactions to SPF on their face and decide not to use it.  It's hard to find skincare or makeup with a non-penetrating SPF, so if your skin tends to get irritated after using skincare or makeup with SPF, try to switch to products like DayWear.  I suggest buying DayWear in one of Lauder's value-priced skincare kits, which are available practically year-round and give your the full-sized moisturizer together with deluxe samples of other skincare for just a few dollars more than the moisturizer itself.  It will give you the opportunity to try some of Lauder's other great skincare products.  I don't work for the company anymore, but many of their skincare products are staples in my medicine cabinet.

Face Anti-Aging by Estee Lauder

Other cosmetics companies are starting to use antioxidants in their makeup.  And you'll notice a big difference, particularly with lip products.  One of my new favorites is a Korres Raspberry Antioxidant liquid lipstick.  It's cooling and soothing, and it works to protect your lips from free radicals.  It's loaded with antioxidants from raspberries and pomegranates.  Moreover, it's formulated without drying nasty parabens and sulfates.  That is another tip when you're looking for moisturizing lipsticks and glosses: go for paraben and sulfate-free products whenever possible.  After a few days, you're lips will feel so much more soft and healthy.

Josie Maran, a fabulous organic beauty line, has a wonderful selection of skincare and makeup loaded with antioxidants.  The secret ingredient?  Argan Oil.  You can buy it from Maran in its purest form for $48.  And that's a great investment because you can use the oil wherever you like: on your skin, your hair, your cuticles, and your lips.  I'm growing my hair out, so I like to use a bit on my ends to protect against breakage and dryness.  Maran uses this miracle oil in many of the other products, including the lipgloss, mascara, and a fantastic bronzer.  I bought one of the value introductory kits and got to try several different products, including the oil, at a phenomenal price.

I hope that you'll be inspired to seek out antioxidants for your beauty regimen.

Replacing an Old Favorite

Don't you hate it when the powers that be discontinue your favorite lipstick or moisturizer?  Everyone has "the one that got away."  And it's inevitable that it will be some obscure color that you just can't find a match for.  For me, it's Anna Sui Face Color (the old formula) in #300.  This is the perfect fuchsia blush.  Yes, I said fuchsia.  Kevyn Aucoin first sold me on the idea of using a sheer fuchsia blush for the most natural healthy flush.  And he once touted the Anna Sui as the best example.  I was sold.  Sort of.  But after I worked up the nerve to buy this garish-looking color and try it, I was really sold.  Whatever your skin tone, when you flush, you don't really flush petal pink or sandy beige, you flush fuchsia.  The skin reddens slightly and appears to create a very light hot pink/fuchsia cast in the cheeks.  And using a blush in this color family to mimic a natural flush is a cult celebrity makeup trick, most vehemently promoted by Aucoin.

But alas, my perfect sheer fuchsia blush has been discontinued, and I am down to the last remnants.  I tried to satisfy myself with a hot pink, which gives a similar look.  I bought MAKE UP FOR EVER's blush in No. 26, which is close but not quite right.  It's more pink-toned, which would probably most people on a quest for fuchsia blush.  Then there is Illamasqua's blush in Thrust, which I like, but it's a little on the magenta side for every day.

I finally found a way to match my favorite fuchsia blush without compromising anything: Three Custom Color Specialists (www.threecustom.com).  This New York based line will match anything you can send them a sample of, both formula and texture.  And texture is very important in this case because it's the sheerness of the Anna Sui product that makes the loud color work so well.  Then they keep it on file permanently for easy reorder.  I am sending in a sample of my Anna Sui tomorrow.  I will let you know the results.

Face Blush at Sephora

Home of the Free

I love trying new products via samples.  The cosmetics industry has been marketing its products through sampling programs for decades.  Gradually, traditional sampling has been expanded to include gift with purchase, purchase with purchase, and value-priced sets.  The reason that these types of sampling programs are so common among cosmetics companies and retailers is because they sell little luxuries. The luxuries range from the affordable to the outrageous, but they are all nonessential items.  And particularly in these cost-conscious times, sampling programs and their related "try before you buy" counterparts are critical to sales.  The following are a few of my favorite places for scoring samples online, although I also recommend asking for samples the news time you're picking up your foundation at the local department store or browsing for a new perfume.  Who knows, you may discover a new favorite.

Sephora
I love shopping at Sephora stores and online, not only for their selection, but for their excellent sampling programs and member rewards.  You can always choose at least three samples with every order (usually out of a selection of a dozen or so skincare, makeup, and fragrance samples).  Additionally, sephora.com always has codes for deluxe-sized freebees.  Sometimes these codes are not all listed on the web page, but you can find them easily on Sephora's facebook page or on their email list.  For example, right now, you can use the code BEBARETRIO to get a free set of Bare Escentuals products with the purchase of any product on Sephora's web site.  This trio is a 10-day supply of the Bare Minerals foundation in your choice of color, the mineral veil sheer powder, and a cute mini Kabuki brush.  There are at least ten other similar offers at any given time, some requiring the purchase of a specific brand or product, but most of them are just free with any purchase. 

Sephora also offers great value-priced gift sets, some of which are seasonal and go on sale on the web page for an even better deal.  Some of them are a mixture of deluxe sized items from one brand, others are "Sephora Favorites" from different brands.  Right now, the web page has a mascara giftset that gives you ten deluxe mascara samples from different brands (including Korres and Smashbox) for only $39.  There are similar giftsets for skincare. 

Also, Sephora has a great rewards program that gives you even more deluxe freebees as you accumulate rewards points with your purchases.  One final Sephora tip: if you sign up for their rewards program, you also get a little birthday gift if you request it either at the store or on the web page within two weeks of your birthday.

ULTA
ULTA's online shop also has a fantastic sampling program.  There is some overlap of brands with Sephora, but ULTA also has drugstore brands and often has great sales and buy-one-get-one deals on those items.  ULTA always gives you three samples of your choice with any online order.  And like Spehora, often they have deluxe giveaways.  Right now, ULTA is giving a deluxe Bare Escentuals mascara with any purchase from the brand.  Additionally, ULTA often has online coupon codes for discounts and free shipping (although, shipping is always free with a $50 purchase).  But one word of warning on the coupon codes: they usually don't apply to any of the "prestige" brands, so those codes are only going to work on your drugstore and ULTA brand items.  But it's still a great way to save.

ULTA also has some great value-priced gift sets.  They have a great variety of Bare Escentuals and Too Faced value sets in particular.

The Beauty Sampler
This is a web site that specializes in selling samples of popular items that the cosmetics companies don't sample.  In particular, this is the place to find MAC Pigment samples.  If you're not familiar with Pigments, they are loose form pure color in jars that can be used as eyeshadow, blush, eyeliner, or even mixed with lipgloss.  I generally use them as eyeshadows and love that they don't crease and last all day.  The Beauty Sampler sells 1/4 teaspoon samples in small jars.  This doesn't sound like a lot, but with Pigment, a little goes a long way and even if you wore the same color every day, it would probably take you a good month or two to go through that much Pigment.  These sell for $2 to $3 depending on the color.  This retailer has rare and discontinued colors, as well as the Pro colors, which are only sold in MAC Pro shops.  They don't charge for shipping, and I find it's a great way to try new colors without a big investment.  The full-sized Pigments sell for $20, and I've never been able to get anywhere near making a dent in my full sized Pigments, some of which I've had for nearly ten years.  Better to get 6 or 7 different shades in these great trial containers for the price of one.  Get them at www.thebeautysampler.com.

Prime Time

If you've read a beauty magazine lately, you've probably seen some of the recent uproar about primers. Primers have been around for years, but until recently, it was hard to find a formula that felt smooth and light on the skin and didn't turn you a sickly shade of yellow. Also recently, there has been more buzz about the perks of using a separate eye primer formulated just for your lids in addition to a foundation primer.

For those of you not yet sold on the benefits of using a primer before foundation, let me tell you, it's a worthwhile investment. A good primer should (1) perfect your skintone; (2) minimize visible pores and lines; and (3) help your foundation glide on smoothly so you end up using less product. Your skin should feel smooth and silky after you apply it, and it should NEVER feel sticky or like you have layers of goop on your face. It's one of those things that you decide to try one day and then wonder how you ever lived without it.

Smashbox
Now, most beauty insiders go straight to Smashbox Photo Finish, and I can't blame them. It's a solid primer and it's available in several shades from colorless (which is my personal preference) to skintone-correcting shades like green to minimize redness and lavender to minimize yellow tones. My only real gripe with Smashbox primer besides my hankering to try something new is the price: it's $36 for one ounce, and with the economy being what it is, I went in search of a budget foundation primer to substitute for my old standby. And I figured while I was at it, I may as well try to find a good eye primer too.

Arbonne
First up, I tried Arbonne's liquid primer. My soon-to-be sister-in-law is a rep for Arbonne and kindly sent me a sample. Arbonne is an organic vegan Swiss skincare line available online and through reps. The primer was a nice smoothing liquid, and it smelled clean and fresh (always a plus). I liked the texture a bit better than the Photo Finish overall, although I found that the products are actually very similar in that they do all the things a primer should do: smooth the skin, minimize pores, and make the foundation look flawless. My only complaint is that like the Smashbox primer, Arbonne's primer costs $36. But considering it's made with good-for-you organic ingredients, it's a great find. And for those who are looking for a good organic and/or vegan beauty line, Arbonne is a wonderful option.

Laura Mercier
Next, I tried Laura Mercier's Mineral Primer. This is supposed to be a liquid-to-powder finish. It felt good going on, but I found that it dried too quickly as I was trying to spread it on. Because of this, it made my makeup look uneven and spotty (quite the opposite of what a primer is supposed to do). At first, I thought maybe this was a user-error and I needed to be faster on the draw in applying it. So I tried it again the next day, and though I had some improvement with speed, it still gave a really uneven look to my foundation. Both times I has to wipe it off and start fresh with a different primer. I think that this one is a big disappointment. I shouldn't have to race against the clock to get my primer on and blended before it dries into a cakey mess. And even though it's a good price at $30 for a 1.7 ounce tube, I would never buy this product.

L'oreal
On to the drug store find: L'oreal's new and much hyped Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base. I got sucked into the commercial and since I was in the market for an affordable primer, I immediately ordered it on drugstore.com. Other beauty-addicts must be on a similar quest for affordable smooth skin because it was on back-order, but it was restocked and shipped to my door within a few days. It comes in a little pot and is a bit thicker than the liquid primers I'm used to. But the formula is still airy and light when you apply it and gives the silky smooth finish I'm looking for. It also has a slightly iridescent pink glow to it that gives the skin a nice healthy look. Overall, I like it. But the problem is that because it's not a liquid or anything close to a liquid, it doesn't spread as easily and I ended up using for product to get full-face coverage. That wouldn't necessarily be a problem except that the jar is only half an ounce at $13, so I'd need two to equal the size of my Photo Finish, and I have a feeling that because the formula requires that I use more product, I would go through 2 and 1/2 to 3 jars in the same time as a bottle of Photo Finish, so it might not be a real money-saver after all. It's a shame because it really is a great over-the-counter product. This just goes to show you that you have to check out the prices per ounce when trying to save at the drug store. Sometimes you can find a great deal, and other times, the price per ounce is really the same or even more than the department store equivalent.

Korres
Next, I tried a Korres silicone-free face primer I got as a sample in my Sephora order. At last, we have an affordable winner! This 99% natural primer loaded with good-for-your-skin antioxidants. It is very much comparable to the Smashbox and Arbonne, only it weighs in at $28 per ounce, saving me a bit of cash. Other than the savings, I also prefer this primer to Photo Finish because it's in a tube rather than a pump, which I find allows me to get every last bit of product easier. I've spent many a day trying to scrape the last of my foundation, primer, or whatever out of the bottle with a q-tip, so a squeezable tube is a welcome alternative package.

Hourglass
Finally, I tried Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer, another Sephora sample. This one has a few additional features to the standard primers: it has SPF 15 and it's designed to absorb excess oils. Now, all the other primers will smooth shine on the skin and make it feel a little less oily. But this is the first primer I've tried that actually seems to suck up all the excess oil on my summer combination skin. I'm impressed! Bonus feature: I also found that my foundation stayed on better than ever with this primer, even after being in the hot July sun all day. The SPF is not a big deal to me since both my moisturizer and my foundation have SPF 15 and SPF is not layerable (so SPF 15 plus SPF 15 does not equal 30; you only get the SPF benefit of the highest level SPF product you have on). But the oil absorption is something to think about. I was sold until I looked at the price. $52 for one ounce? Yikes! I'm tempted because of the staying power and the oil-control, but I think that's just because it's summertime. In the winter, when my skin is dryer and I'm not glistening in the hot sun, those features would not be worth the extra cost to me. I may rationalize this purchase as a summer primer and use the Korres during the other 9 months out of the year. Damn you Sephora sampling program, you've done it again!

(check back soon for Prime Time Part Deux: Eye Primers)

Face Primer by Smashbox