Dior Addict

Last week I wrote about shelf life of various make up products (http://beautymanual.blogspot.com/2009/06makeup-shelf-life.html) and I mentioned in this post that though the shelf life of a lipstick is about 8 months but good brands live much longer. I did not invent this, I heard it from a make-up artist and I also have a leaving proof of that – Christian Dior Addict Lipstick. I have one of these for 5 years now (!) - it is one of my favorites and I only use it for special occasions that’s why it lasted that long.

Needless to say that Dior Addict comes in multiple wonderful colors and wears nicely but I mostly love it because it is of really good quality: in 5 years it didn’t change its original color, texture, smell or performance. It doesn’t cause any irritation or allergic reaction though it is very old. To me this is an indication of high quality ingredients that were used to create it.

This is the longest living lipstick that I ever owned. Most of the time when I buy a lipstick in a summer shade it doesn’t even last till next summer. There were dozens of lipsticks I threw out which were just barely used. But this one is a keeper. It is a bit expensive but in the long run you are saving money with it since you are not going to need a new one every year. It may even last another 5 years, we’ll see!

Makeup shelf life

Whether you like Dior or Covergirl or any other brand of cosmetic products you need to know the following guidelines about their shelf life to avoid any problems with skin, infections, etc.:

1. Mascara’s shelf life is 4-6 month and you should be especially careful with anything that goes close to your eye. An eye infection is a nasty thing you want to avoid by all means.

2. Eyeliner: if it’s a pencil its shelf life is 1 year and since you always sharpen it you always renew the tip and delete any bacteria on it. But if an oily substance is leaking out of it – throw it away immediately. Liquid eyeliners “live” much less, about 6 months, because microbes can easily breed inside the bottle.

3. Lipstick: on average its shelf life is 8 months but good brands live much longer. If your lipstick started to stick to your lips – don’t use it anymore

4. Powder eye shades and blushes are usually good for up to 2 years, liquid – up to a year.

5. Concealers and compacts are good for 1 year too but pay attention to their smell and consistency. If something changes for the worth – throw them away

6. Brushes: if made of natural hair, they can live forever if you take care of them properly: wash them once a week with warm water and regular soap and let them dry well.

If you want your favorite cosmetic products live longer there is one rule of thumb: decrease sun, heat and humidity exposure!

Cat Eye and Perfect Pout

There are several dozens of ways to apply lip products and definitely millions of ways to apply eye makeup. If you were to try all shades and patterns it will take you a lifetime… So what’s left for all of us busy ladies to do? If I were to choose just 1 thing everyone should know about eyes and lips each that would be how to create a “cat” eye and a perfect pout. I specifically like the former because it suits all eye shapes and colors and makes you look irresistible.
My favorite makeup Guru, Lauren Luke, has created video tutorials on these specific topics, which are very comprehensive but at the same time quite easy to follow. Enjoy:

CAT EYE


PERFECT POUT

Top mascaras

One product is most important in my makeup routine – a mascara - and I spent years searching for the perfect one that would not be too wet or too dry, won’t smudge or leave clumps on my lashes, would give a excellent volume and length, etc. May be because I am so picky it was so hard to find the one that would be ideal in all respects.

It turns out I am not the only one searching. Recently I found the results of an interesting research done by Splendora.com in which they analyzed 50 different mascaras sold in drugstores and in department stores (the two groups were analyzed separately). The winners turned out to be:

It was a very thorough research judging by the description of the methodology and the depth of evaluation. There are only 2 things which I want to add to it on my behalf:

1. Beware of the Department Store category winners #3 YSL Volume Effect Faux Cils and #5 DiorShow. I tried the former one personally and it is AWFUL! It smudges after about 2 hours not matter what I do (and I don’t do much during the day except for sitting in the office). The latter one I researched on-line a lot and customer reviews are generally divided as follows: 70% love it, 30% hate it (and I mean really, really HATE it because of the clumps). This is an indication that it might not be as good after all.

2. I noticed that Splendora-reviewed mascaras fall into 2 categories: “under 10 USD” and “above 20 USD”. There are not many products reviews “in between” and that’s where my personal winner is - Clinique Naturally Glossy Mascara

Splendora did not review this mascara, in fact they did not review any product by Clinique (I wonder why…) This mascara turned out to be everything I was looking for (non-clumpy, don’t smudge for 8 hours+, looks great on my lashes), basically, it is department store quality but with close to a drugstore price tag. Isn’t THIS a perfect combination?

P.S. You can read the full story about the Splendora reaseach at http://www.splendora.com/best_mascaras/best_of_splendora_top_ten_mascaras

Great Lip Gloss - glossy, not sticky!

I was wondering today what more nonsense Cosmopolitan.com can suggest and surely it is full of it! In my “favorite” Celebs Favorite Beauty Products section Angela Kinsey recommends Lancome Juicy Tubes lip gloss. If you like the feeling of your lips covered in a sick sugary syrup than that’s the product for you, otherwise stay away, it is awful!!! It is very sticky, EXTREMELY STICKY, and feels totally unpleasant on your lips.

I do like a lot of Lancome products but this one is terrible!! I bought it several years ago and I was disgusted, I honestly hoped they’d change the formulation sooner or later. Recently I received this product as a gift and it is still as bad as it was before… In addition it costs 25 USD – the price for which you can buy 2 much better products!

Honestly, ANY product would be better than this one but I personally have 2 favorites:

1. Mary Kay Signature NouriShine Lip Gloss. It feels very pleasant, it wears beautifully and it can be used on top of a lipstick or by itself. I own several shades but I use these 2 most often because they go with any make up (if not one then the other). One has sparkles and the other doesn’t so I use either of them depending on my mood and/or occasion:




2. Revlon Super Lustrous Lip gloss. What has all the benefits of MK lip gloss but also has SPF 15, which is rare in lip glosses and very important especially with the summer quickly approaching. Here is the color I like:


Both products are affordable (half price of Juice Tubes) and are of a very good quality.

How to save even more: when you shop on Amazon.com you usually get a better price then on any other website (unless there is a special sale or you have a discount coupon). Typically you save at least 10%. In addition you get FREE shipping if you order 25 USD or more worth of qualifying products. This is very important: you can buy the same lip gloss from several Amazon.com vendors and Amazon ITSELF. When you choose Amazon as vendor this is when you get free shipping.

Makeup tutorials

I hope you noticed that I added a video bar to my blog to show you some of the makeup tutorials by Lauren Luke and probably you are wondering WHO is Lauren and WHY I decided to showcase her videos.

Is she a makeup professional? – No, not at all. But she does not need to be one because she has a unique GIFT, a sense of Beauty, a talent for applying makeup. People globally recognize her natural talent – as of early 2009 her YouTube tutorials have been viewed more than 31 MILLION times during the past 3 years she’s been posting them! Though being an amateur, she is, possibly the most viewed makeup artist in the world.

But this is not WHY I like her. I adore her because she is genuine, open and passionate about what she likes, she has an amazing entrepreneurial spirit. She not only teaches us how to apply makeup but how to pursue our dreams and how not to be afraid of challenges. She was a single mom in a small British town with a “dead-end” job she hated when she decided to follow her calling – she quit the job and started to produce these amazing makeup tutorials from her bedroom. That was the beginning of her story and it is a story in the making, enfolding in front of our eyes, “in real time”: just in February this year she got a job with the Guardian newspaper to run their beauty column and end of April her own make up line will be launched. And she is only 27 years old!

Lauren is indeed an example for all of us. If you are interested in her story or if you just need an inspiration you can read more about Lauren Luke in U.K. Guardian newspaper: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jan/30/lauren-luke-youtube-makeup

I am a follower of her tutorials and I will be brining you the best ones in this blog.

Makeup tips

I am always looking for good tips about using beauty products. Collette Kavanagh, who owns a beauty salon in a small Irish town of Ferbane came up with these great make up tips:

1. Always choose a foundation that matches's your skin tone and type. A good way to check is to put some foundation on the back of your hand and view it in a well lit area. Using a damp sponge blend the foundation evenly all over your face, down to the start of your neckline.

2. Cover blemishes with a concealer that matches your foundation. Apply with the damp sponge.

3. Apply a translucent powder all over your face, pressing in with a powder puff, or cotton wool. Finally dust off the excess with a powder brush. This will set the foundation in place and prevent shine.

4. Starting on the cheekbone and working towards the outer edge of the nose, sweep on the blusher. A good tip when applying blusher is to smile in to the mirror, that way you can find the correct outline of the cheekbone. Use Blusher sparingly, you can always top-up if necessary.

5. Choose eye-shadow colours that will match both your eye colour and will also compliment what you will be wearing. In general most companies provide a trio of eye shadow compacts. The lightest colour should be dusted all over the eye, the next colour applied to the eyelid ,and the darkest shade just at the outer edge of the upper eye-lid and swept along the eye socket. If you use this technique you cant go far wrong.

6. Apply eyeliner; the general rule of thumb here is brown for the daytime and black for the night, regardless of eye colour. Apply the liner to both the upper and lower lash line. Start at the outer edge of the lash line on the lid and line ¼ of the way in. The same applies to the lower lash line. Don't go all the way in as it will look too unnatural.

7. Next the mascara. Here the same colour rule applies. Brown for day and black for night. Apply the mascara working down the lashes moving the wand in circular movements. This ensures better coverage. You can now use an eyelash brush to comb the eyelash; this will remove any excess mascara.

8. Eyebrows. This is a very common problem; people put on their eye shadow and totally forget about their eyebrows. The eyebrows frame the face and a well-shaped eyebrow will always result in a better overall make-up. So start by brushing down the hair on the eyebrow, then draw in a feathered line on the eyebrow line. Finally, brush the eyebrow hair in to place.

9. Lips: outline your lips with a neutral lip liner or one that matches's the colour of your lipstick. If you lips are too small you can draw just outside of the natural lip line. The same applies if your lips are too large - you can draw just inside the natural lip line. Now you are ready to fill in your lip colour - this can be done by applying the lipstick with a lip brush. Blot the lips with a tissue and then apply a last coat.

So simple and effecient! Have a Beauty-full day!