I feel pretty--NOT! THE COSMETICS THREAD

i finally started using my sample of stila all-over shimmer. i really like it so far, although i barely put any on - just some in c-shape around the cheekbones/temples as directed by sunny. it seems to give a nice boost.

The boy gave me a nice diamond pendant for my birthday but I was thinking "damn, I already had that Sephora gift card spent. . ."

xmas. . .$200 sephora gift card. :D What will I get, what will I get.

I just spent my MAC gift card on 6 pan eyeshadows for my pallet. I'm already in "house clothes" mode but might have to do makeup now just to try them out.

Also, I bought the O Gloss a couple weeks ago and LOVE it.

I have been curious about the O gloss. . .so the custom color bit works out well?

i like benefit stuff usually but i can tell you now that firmology does nothing but make your skin pink.

in an iridescent way.

i have the o-gloss and it looks pretty bad on me so im not sure about the custom color claim. i have o-glow too which looks ok. probably wont buy again.

guys im so in love with MACs face primer. The 50+ SPF one is a little thicker and yr skin looks a little less glowy but if youre putting foundation over it its actually a little better than the original. no foundation - the original looks better IMO. both so great though.

also ive finally found a foundation that works for me (MAC too btw). it only took until my 30s.

I might buy the O-gloss off ebay to save some $ in case I hate it.

So primer gets thumbs up? I almost got the Smashbox color correcting version (I get red and blotchy as the day goes on.), but backed off. I'm loathe to pile more stuff on my face and worry about the heat humidity here making it slide off.

Lately I've just been using tinted moisturizer. I got one at Sephora this weekend which the "skincare expert" claimed would work like a primer while also providing SPF and color correction. I'll see how it goes this week (It was $35 so it better go well. . .)

Other purchases: perfume, Metro Chic polish (love), dry shampoo and Fekkai glossing cream, more primer potion (the almay stuff did not work.) I need to write UD though about that shitty bottle). They gave me samples of DDF sulfur mask and Boscia cleanser and toner. I'd like to get the mask as I know it's great for breakouts. But, damn, it's stinky. Don't know if I can get over that.

Ooooooh I too love the Metro Chic polish.

So I wrote Urban Decay about the crappy potion primer bottle and got this reply:

We are working on the Primer Potion packaging problem and have been since we first started hearing about this. Getting a new package in the works is the #1 priority here right now, and you can expect to see a repackaging of the Primer Potion that allows you to get as much out as possible. It probably won’t be in a pot (it would dry out too fast that way), but it may be in a tube or a re-engineered vial. We can’t say yet what it is because we are exploring several options, but we plan to get it out as soon as we can. If you are interested, we will let you know what we decide to do, and when it will come out. If you’d like to throw in your two cents about what you want, please go for it, but do it soon. If you don’t ask, we won’t know, and we will definitely be taking our customers’ ideas into account.

In the meantime, don’t feel compelled to cut open your Primer Potion. We did some experimentation and found that with some banging on a hard surface, you can get most of the product out. Just hold it lid-side down, and give it a couple of good whacks each time you need more Potion. Although that’s not ideal, you’ll definitely get significantly more product out.

--

Also you guys might know this but I just read it yesterday: HELLO KITTY MAC LINE!

Hmmmm - I don't think any amount of banging on that little tube will get out the amount of product I discovered when I cut it open! Good that they're working on new packaging though.

oh lord!

susan, if that tinted moisturizer is not good, take it back! i have returned foundation i hated there before. no need to waste $35.

i am also scared of putting too much on my face (i feel like i already do) but i also feel like my skin is really dull/wintery lately. what is a good brightening foundation that does not make you look like you rolled around in a pile of glitter?

that does not make you look like you rolled around in a pile of glitter? should be added on to the end of every make up question.

i cant see that hello kitty line on MAC yet

Here's some photos of the MAC stuff

Oh I will definitely take that tinted moisturizer back if I don't like it. So far it's doing well except it's not helping the redness/blotchiness. Which is what I really want. A color correcting primer + foundation might be my only option for that but I really hate to go so heavy.

primer doesnt have to be heavy and you dont need to use foundation with it. i usually dont

Yeah I was wondering if primer would be effective just over tinted moisturizer. I just really don't want to pile foundation on top of those. When I go back I'm going to ask for a sample of the smashbox one. What brand do you use Sunny?

i use mac (normal face primer and the 50+ SPF one). i have used the orange smashbox one and it was fine. mac just works better for my skin. smashbox are the only color correcting primers i know of though. i guess green conteracts red, right?

also, ive never seen, or even thought of, a brush holder before:

http://www.temptalia.com/images/maccosmetics/media_hello008.jpg

oh the thing i really like about smashbox primer is that it makes your skin feel weirdly velvety.

I am at the point where I need to cut my UD primer tube open as well - but glad to hear that they may do something less stupid next time!

My Grandma bought me a set of LAncome brushes for Christmas and the one for pressed powder is so soft and luxurious, I feel like I am rubbing a newborn's head against my cheek. BLISS. creepy bliss, that is.

I love that velvety sensation too sunny!

The Chanel tinted moisturizer is really nice and worth the $$$. Also the hydrating serum is probably the best product I've ever used on my face in my life.

hydramax?

Yeah! That stuff is the most A+ ever.

cool. i might try it. im sick of olay shite.

Hey, yeah, I threw Olay over just about a month ago. Hydramax is great because you only have to use a little, little bit and it lasts forever.

anyone have good suggestions on eye cream? Over the holidays I realized what horrible undereye bags my mother and aunt have and am terrified they are also in my future.

I don't have a suggestion for that, but I am in the market for an eye cream, too.

I do know that Benefit makes this under-eye concealer called eye-con that, over time, makes your undereye area actually brighter even when you're not wearing it.

Sunny, they'll give you a sample of Hydramax. Actually, they'll give you a sample of anything that's not powder, and it always comes in a tiny little Chanel pot. I love those.

nice!

What is "mineral" foundation? I just bought some from Neutrogena. Also, my sis gave me Boots eyeshadow mousse in lavender, which seems to last.

i think it's just meant to be all-natural -- i've never tried one because i've been told they are heavier.

neutrogena offers a liquid version tho, which i've never seen advertised as mineral make-up before -- they used to (maybe still do?) have that copper-based make-up, i wonder if this is a retread of that?

The mineral powder foundation I tried (Bare Essentials?) made my skin look really bad. It just highlighted all the bumps on my face.

I got the O-Gloss yesterday. The color seems okay to me but I really like the staying power. I usually use stains - Benetint, Stila Convertible Color or Lip Envy - but unfortunately they don't seem very staining.

Hey, the mineral foundation I have is virtually unused if anyone wants to trade me something for it. Not sure if trading make-up is considered gross but I imagine things like powder and hair products are safe. Does it clean up lip products to wipe them down with alcohol?

not sure how much it cleans them but that is what i've always been told to do when testing things in places like sephora or dept. stores.

This seems like a good place to promote a website started by a friend of mine for people to compare/discuss/recommend skin care products:

http://www.beautystat.com/

The guy who started this has been working in the cosmetics industry for something like 20 years now; it's not really my bag but maybe y'all will find it interesting/worthwhile?

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style/beauty/beauty-blog/Ramy-eyebrows-tweezing?src=rss

BREAKING NEWS STORY

seriously what is this

Frozen yogurt is her weakness? Yeah I'm sure she's a giant fattie.

I picked up a cosmo the other day for the first time in years. I really don't remember that magazine being so stupid.

the O-gloss sounds a bit bs-ish

The first intuitive lip gloss, this innovative formula goes on clear and then reacts with your personal skin chemistry to instantly transform into your own custom shade of pink. O-GLOSS is packed with our exclusive microcirculating Goji Berry-C Complex™(...)

still want to try it tho

I'm really liking the O-Gloss. I could see the color being too pinkish for some but it works out well for me. Like I think I said above, what I love the most is its staying power and un-stickiness. Big thumbs up.

Also have decided Smashbox's tinted moisturizer is mine for good.

Does anyone use any DDF or Boscia skincare products? Worth the money?

i have a DDF moisturizer and its so globby and sticky and heavy that i washed it off 5 minutes after putting it on and never used it again.

OK ladies I need recs for moisturizers and pref something I can find at CVS as I have some extra bucks I want to use. Has anyone used any of the higher end stuff they sell there - La Roche or Vichy? Any good? I am open to all suggestions though. Would prefer something anti-aging. I have separate sunscreen so it doesn't need to include SPF. THanks!!

i'm really liking La Roche-Posay's toleraine fluide moisturiser. and i have v v sensitive skin. i had tried the toleraine riche but it was too riche... this is pretty good and feels very light yet actually moisturizes! and isn't totally full of weird stuff. i think it might be my fave moisturizer ever except for estée lauder's idealist, which is $$ and has a slight perfume to it and might not even exist anymore

i bought mac blush 'dollymix' (briight pink) - now i own a total of two blushes! i love blush now. not as much as mascara, but close.
and i bought mac technakohl liner in 'graphblack'

i think this is happening partly b/c on new year's i half-jokingly referred to 2009 as my 'year of feelings. and glamour' - it is all coming truuue!

i just bought mac penultimate liner which is the best liquid pen liner ive ever tried. also a pigment that reflects 'antique gold'. nice.

what is the technakohl like, robyn?

antique gold, ooh

the technakohl is great - glides on beautifully, very black, maintains black colour when purposely smudged (doesn't go blue or whatever like some eyelines) - and whoa, stays on - definitely need makeup remover to get it off.

the blush seems to be fooling everyone into thinking i get enough sleep and am at one with the universe

Yeah, I really need an eye cream. I look like Mick Mars.